France's top diplomat said Thursday that Hamas had lost its fight in Gaza and must accept "surrender" under a plan put forward by US President Donald Trump.
The Palestinian militant group is currently weighing its response to the Trump plan, which has been publicly endorsed by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"Hamas bears a very heavy responsibility for the catastrophe experienced by the Palestinians," Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told AFP in Saudi Arabia, where he was attending a meeting on global security matters.
"It has lost. It must accept its own surrender," he added, pointing to a recent UN resolution calling for Hamas to be excluded from the leadership of a future Palestinian state.
Barrot reiterated France's support for the Trump plan on Thursday, saying it was ready to "work on its implementation to bring an end to the war, to the famine and to the suffering in Gaza".
He declined to speculate on what might happen if Hamas refused the deal.
Trump's plan calls for a ceasefire, the release of hostages within 72 hours, Hamas's disarmament and a gradual Israeli withdrawal from Gaza.
Hamas has yet to make a final decision on the proposal, according to a Palestinian source close to the group's leaders.
Barrot on Thursday also defended France's resumption of dialogue with Tehran over its nuclear programme, despite the recent reimposition of UN and European sanctions.
"France will make its best efforts towards a negotiated solution," he said.
AFP
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