Macron calls Netanyahu 'shameful' for blocking aid to Gaza

Samy Adghirni, Bloomberg News on May 14, 2025

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French President Emmanuel Macron accused Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of “shameful” behavior in blocking humanitarian aid to Gaza, and called on the European Union to toughen its stance against the country.

The decision — which Israel says is aimed at pressurizing Hamas as part of its campaign to destroy the Iran-backed group — is “unacceptable,” Macron said in an interview with broadcaster TF1. In a separate interview with BFMTV Wednesday, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot described the situation in Gaza as an “unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe.”

The comments demonstrate the growing tension between Israel and some of its closest allies over the roughly 19-month war with Hamas, which has destroyed much of Gaza and killed more than 52,000 people, according to the Hamas-run health authority.

Netanyahu’s government blocked aid in March, around when a ceasefire collapsed. Hamas is designated as a terrorist organization by the U.S. and E.U.

The United Nations says Gaza’s roughly 2 million people face dwindling supplies of food and other essentials.

Barrot, alongside counterparts from Germany and the U.K., last month urged Israel to “immediately re-start a rapid and unimpeded flow of humanitarian aid.”

Referring to E.U.-Israeli relations, Macron said it’s an open question for Europeans to consider “whether we should continue the discussions, the cooperation agreements with Israel as they stand.”

The French president cited recent comments from the Dutch government, which called for a collective reassessment of the E.U.’s trade ties with Israel. The Netherlands has long been one of Israel’s closest allies in Europe.

“We can’t pretend nothing’s happened, so we’re going to have to step up the pressure on these issues, yes,” he said in response to a viewer’s question on why France wasn’t imposing sanctions on Israel.

Yet Macron suggested that only the U.S. could make a real difference on the ground by applying conditions to military aid to Israel. President Donald Trump is a close ally of Netanyahu, though there have been signs that the relationship is straining.

Israel has embraced a U.S. plan for a phased resumption of food distribution to Gaza’s civilians that would be designed to stop Hamas seizing it. It is unclear, though, when the program will start.

Earlier this week, Netanyahu said he’s days away from ordering an all-out escalation of Israel’s war against Hamas if it didn’t release the hostages it still holds and lay down its arms.

Macron endorsed the Israeli government’s right to defend itself following Hamas’ October 7, 2023 attacks, which killed over 1,200 people and abducted 250.

But the longer the war’s gone on, the more tense relations between him and Netanyahu have become.

Last month, they sparred over the French leader’s plan to recognize a Palestinian state and encourage other countries to do the same.

Such a move would be a “huge prize for terror” and a “bastion of Iranian terrorism,” Netanyahu said on a call with Macron.