“We are bound to Israel by mourning”: Macron met with families of French hostages in Tel Aviv

More than two weeks after the Hamas attack in Israel, the French president arrived in Tel Aviv on Tuesday morning to express France’s “full solidarity” with the Jewish state. Immediately upon his arrival on Israeli soil, around 6:20 a.m. Paris time, Emmanuel Macron met with the families of French or Franco-Israeli people killed in the attack or held hostage in the Gaza Strip since October 7.

Thirty French citizens have been killed in attacks by the Palestinian terrorist movement and nine are still missing, likely detained by Hamas, according to the latest report published by the President this morning on X (formerly Twitter). The family of Mia Shem, the French-Israeli hostage whose video was released last week by Hamas, was present, an AFP journalist noted.

The meeting took place in the waiting room of Ben Gurion Airport. “In Tel Aviv, together with their families, I expressed the solidarity of the nation,” the President of the Republic said on X at the end of the exchange. “We are bound to Israel by mourning,” he wrote.

According to BFMTV, Emmanuel Macron met with relatives of the dead or presumed dead, the missing or hostages, and the wounded. “I just had the opportunity to speak with the families of French hostages held by Hamas. I say this to everyone: France does not abandon its people. We are doing everything possible to achieve the release and return of our compatriots,” insisted the President of the Republic, who also explained that he could not give them any promises.

Relatives of the victims said that Emmanuel Macron took the time to talk to each of the families individually. “He is extremely sensitive to each of the families of the abductees and victims. He knows every case, knows all the names by heart,” said one of the relatives present at the RTL microphone. According to her, the head of state also told them that the French hostages were still “very much alive.”

After leaving Tel Aviv airport, the French president’s motorcade headed to Jerusalem, where he was scheduled to meet with Israeli President Isaac Herzog, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and opposition leaders Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid. During this one-day visit, Emmanuel Macron is expected to advocate for a “humanitarian truce” that “could lead to a ceasefire.” According to the Élysée Palace, he should also call for the “preservation of civilians” in the Gaza Strip and propose resuming a “genuine peace process” to create a Palestinian state, with a commitment from regional countries to “Israel’s security” in return.