French President Emmanuel Macron's office said in a statement that Macron, in a phone call with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, had expressed his firm opposition to a possible Israeli military offensive in Rafah, southern Gaza.
"This could only lead to a humanitarian catastrophe of a new magnitude and to forced displacement of populations, which would constitute violations of international human rights and bring additional risk of regional escalation," it said.
Prime Minister Netanyahu responded to Macron, saying, "We will fight until absolute victory, and that includes powerful action in Rafah once we've allowed the civilian population to leave the battle zones.