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DUBAI: French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot voiced support on Tuesday for a joint appeal made with ������Ƶ at the United Nations for the release of hostages, the disarmament of Hamas, and its exclusion from any future role in governing a Palestinian state.

Warning that any expansion of Israeli military operations into Gaza City and the Al-Mawasi area would be “a recipe for disaster,” the minister said such a move would cause more civilian casualties, endanger hostages, and risk turning the conflict into a war without end. 

On Sunday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu laid out his vision of victory in Gaza following 22 months of war - with the military ordered to attack the last remaining Hamas strongholds in Gaza City and the central camps further south.

With a pre-war population of some 760,000, according to official figures, Gaza City was the biggest of any municipal area in the Palestinian territories.

The Barrot called for a permanent ceasefire, the protection of civilians, and the large-scale delivery of humanitarian aid, while proposing a temporary international stabilization mission under a UN mandate to lay the groundwork for lasting peace.

The Security Council should mandate this mission, the minister said, adding that work with international partners had already begun. 

“It’s the only credible way of ending permanent war and building peace and stability in the region. Let’s not waste any time,” he said.

STRASBOURG, France: The Council of Europe urged its member states on Tuesday to halt deliveries of weapons to Israel if they could be used for human rights violations.
Michael O’Flaherty, the Council’s commissioner for human rights, said member states should do “their utmost to prevent and address violations of international human rights” in the conflict.
“This includes applying existing legal standards to ensure that arms transfers are not authorized where there is a risk that they may be used to commit human rights violations,” he said, in a statement.
It was also “essential to intensify efforts to provide relief to those affected by the conflict, by supporting efforts to ensure unhindered access for humanitarian assistance and by pressing for the immediate release of hostages,” O’Flaherty said.
The call by the Council – a human rights organization representing 46 states – comes shortly after Germany said it would halt delivery to Israel of some weapons that could be used in Gaza as part of Israeli plans to take control of Gaza City.
O’Flaherty said the Council had taken note of this and other government initiatives, and also of contributions by some national human rights structures in raising awareness.
“However, more needs to be done, and quickly,” he said.
Several world leaders have condemned Israel’s decision to widen the Gaza war.
But Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Sunday that the plan to target the remaining Hamas strongholds in Gaza was “the best way to end the war.”