Tetro’s remarks came as French President Emmanuel Macron opened a conference on aid to Gaza in Paris on Thursday.
Macron called for a swift “humanitarian pause” in the Palestinian territory and urged the international community to work “towards a ceasefire”.
“In the immediate term, we need to work on protecting civilians. To do that, we need a humanitarian pause very quickly and we must work towards a ceasefire,” Macron told delegates in Paris.
Israel has stayed away from the talks on aid for civilians in the enclave of 2.4 million people, where the Hamas-run health ministry says Israel’s military campaign has killed more than 10,500 people, many of them children.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said there will be no fuel delivered to Gaza and no ceasefire with Hamas unless the hostages are freed.
Macron spoke to Netanyahu on Tuesday and the pair will talk again once Thursday’s aid conference is over, the Elysee Palace said.
Negotiations are under way for the release of a dozen hostages held by Hamas, including six Americans, in return for a three-day ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, a source close to Hamas told Agence France-Presse on Wednesday.
Another source said Qatar was mediating negotiations in coordination with the United States to free “10-15 hostages in exchange for a one- to two-day ceasefire”.
Thursday’s aid conference has been put together in a hurry on the sidelines of the annual Paris Peace Forum on November 10-11.
Palestinians should govern post-war Gaza, US tells Israel
Palestinians should govern post-war Gaza, US tells Israel
Gaza fighting continues
Israeli troops and Hamas were locked in heavy, close quarters fighting in Gaza City on Thursday, including a 10-hour battle that Israel said toppled one of the Palestinian militants’ “strongholds”.
Hamas fighters armed with rocket-propelled grenade launchers and assault rifles were clashing with Israeli soldiers backed by armoured vehicles in the ruins of the besieged territory’s north.
Israeli flags were flying over buildings at beach resorts in northern Gaza and there was little sign of any human presence amid the destruction as hundreds of thousands have fled a dire humanitarian situation.
The utter devastation is the result of over a month of war sparked by the October 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.
On that day, gunmen from the Islamist group poured over the Gaza border with Israel and, according to Israeli officials, killed 1,400 people and seized about 240 hostages in the worst attack in the country’s history.
Vowing to destroy Hamas, Israel retaliated with an aerial bombing and ground offensive that the health ministry in the Hamas-run Gaza Strip says has killed more than 10,500 people, many of them children.
“We’re going to ask that aid enter Gaza because for now it’s just a few trucks each day,” Philippe Lazzarini, head of the United Nations’ Palestinian refugee agency UNRWA, told broadcaster France Inter early on Thursday.
US House censures lone Palestinian-American lawmaker over Israel comments
US House censures lone Palestinian-American lawmaker over Israel comments
He said US$100 million was needed just to pay salaries to UNRWA’s 30,000 employees.
The world body has “never registered so many deaths in such a short time in a conflict” among its staff, he added.
International concern over the fate of Gaza’s civilians, most of whom cannot flee the sealed-off territory, has strengthened calls for humanitarian “pauses” or a full ceasefire.
Both European and US leaders are “having difficulty convincing [Israel] that there should be humanitarian pauses as soon as possible”, European Council head Michel told broadcaster France 2 early on Thursday.
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Palestinian death toll over 10,000 in Israel-Hamas war, with Gaza casualty figures in spotlight
Palestinian death toll over 10,000 in Israel-Hamas war, with Gaza casualty figures in spotlight
“Israel has the right to defend itself, and this must be in line with the rules of international law,” he added.
Independent UN expert Balakrishnan Rajagopal said on Wednesday that Israel’s widespread and systematic bombardment of housing and civilian infrastructure in Gaza was a “war crime”, as were indiscriminate Hamas rocket attacks that hit Israeli dwellings.
Israel has for now remained firm in keeping up its offensive, with the stated objective of destroying Hamas – which has governed Gaza since 2007.
The UN estimates that US$1.2 billion in aid will be needed for the populations of Gaza and the West Bank from now until the end of the year.