France's Macron discusses Israel/Hamas war with Egypt, Qatar and Bahrain

PARIS (Reuters) - French President Emmanuel Macron spoke on Tuesday with Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, Qatar's Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and Bahrain's King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa to discuss the conflict between Israel and Hamas, said Macron's office.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

France is a United Nations Security Council permanent member and the country has both large Jewish and Muslim populations. Also, hostages holding French citizenship were killed in the Hamas attacks on Oct. 7 last year.

Qatar has also played an increasingly important role as a mediator - in January, Qatar and France brokered a deal with Israel and Hamas to deliver urgent medication to Israeli hostages.

KEY QUOTES

"The President condemned recent Israeli air strikes that have targeted UN schools as well as displaced citizens in the Al-Maghazi refugee camp which have left a large number of civilian victims," Macron's office said in a statement.

"He also reaffirmed France's insistence that Hamas immediately release the hostages," it added.

CONTEXT

The conflict risks escalating and worsening on the border with Lebanon, where France wields some influence as Lebanon's former colonial power. Israel has carried out near-daily air strikes in Syria and Lebanon since Hamas' Oct. 7 attack on southern Israeli border communities and its ensuing military offensive in Gaza.

(Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta; Editing by Sandra Maler)