Israel has to stop killing children and women in Gaza, French President Emmanuel Macron has told the BBC.
During an exclusive interview, Macron said that there was "no justification" for the attack, adding that Israel would gain from a ceasefire.
While acknowledging Israel's right to self-defense, he said, "We do urge them to stop this bombing" in Gaza.
However, he also emphasised that France "clearly condemns" Hamas' "terrorist" activities, the report said.
Thousands who were sheltering at Gaza City’s hospitals flee as Israel-Hamas war closes in
Like Israel, the United States, the United Kingdom, and other Western countries, France views Hamas as a terrorist group.
When asked about whether he wanted other world leaders to support his demands for a ceasefire, including those in the US and the UK, Macron said, "I hope they will."
Civilians flee north Gaza or shelter at a hospital as Israel and Hamas battle in the city
Following almost two weeks of main ground incursion into the territory and a month of Israeli shelling, the health ministry headed by Hamas in Gaza said on Friday that 11,078 Palestinians had died and 1.5 million had left their homes.
Israel claimed that it followed international law when attacking military targets and that it takes precautions to lessen the number of civilian deaths by alerting civilians in advance and urging them to flee.
Speaking a day after a conference in Paris on humanitarian aid related to the Gaza conflict, Macron stated that all participating governments and agencies had reached the "clear conclusion" that there is “no other solution than first a humanitarian pause, going to a ceasefire, which will allow [us] to protect... all civilians having nothing to do with terrorists."
"De facto — today, civilians are bombed — de facto. These babies, these ladies, these old people are bombed and killed. So there is no reason for that and no legitimacy. So we do urge Israel to stop," the French president said.
Macron, however, stated it was not for him to determine whether or not international law had been breached.
Fights in bread lines, despair in shelters: War threatens to unravel Gaza's close-knit society