French President Emmanuel Macron warned on 20 August that Israel’s newly approved plan to seize Gaza City “can only lead to a genuine disaster for both peoples” and would drag the Middle East into a “permanent war.” In a statement issued after phone calls with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi and Jordan’s King Abdullah II, Macron said the operation risked deepening regional instability and reiterated his support for an international stabilisation force for Gaza. Macron’s intervention came hours after Israeli Defence Minister Israel Katz gave the military a green light for the Gaza City assault and ordered the recall of 60,000 reservists, part of a broader mobilisation dubbed Operation Gideon’s Chariots 2. The offensive follows Israel’s rejection of a Qatar- and Egypt-brokered 60-day truce proposal accepted by Hamas, and underscores the collapse of mediation efforts. The French leader urged a permanent cease-fire, the mass delivery of humanitarian aid, the release of all hostages and the disarmament of Hamas, alongside strengthened governance by the Palestinian Authority. Macron has also pledged to recognise a Palestinian state at next month’s UN General Assembly—an initiative that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has denounced as fuelling antisemitism, further straining relations between Paris and Jerusalem.