Macron: Situation in Gaza unacceptable

French President Emmanuel Macron said on Saturday the situation in Gaza is unacceptable and called for coordinated efforts to avert escalation in the region including Lebanon. Macron, speaking at a news conference with his US counterpart Joe Biden at the Elyse, expressed his desire to see an immediate cease-fire in Gaza "and opening the horizons for a political solution because it is the sole avenue to prepare circumstances for lasting and just peace." Nine months after start of the latest conflict, the situation in Rafah is no longer acceptable. It is also unacceptable that the Israeli (occupation) government abstains from opening all the checkpoints to allow humanitarian aid, Macron stressed. On Ukraine, the French president thanked his American peer for the US commitment to support the nation and the latest allocation, USD 225 million, worth of aid for the Ukrainians. For his part, Biden said he was deeply touched when he set alight the torch at the mausoleum of the unknown martyr in homage to the victi ms of World War II. Biden has affirmed that the US stands alongside Ukraine, its allies and France, in the face of the Russian president's threats. The US president started a visit to France on Saturday to partake in ceremonies of 80th anniversary of the D-Day landing marking the Allied troops' landing at the Normandy beaches in the last phases of the second World War. Source: Kuwait News Agency