French President Emmanuel Macron expressed his deep concern "regarding the tragic situation of Catholic Christians in the Gaza Strip, where a woman and her daughter from the parish were brutally killed by Israeli soldier gunfire." The Élysée Palace stated in a release on Sunday that Macron conveyed to the Patriarch of Jerusalem, Cardinal Pierbattista Pizzaballa, during a phone call held on the eve of Christmas, his "deep concern about the dire situation of the Latin parish in Gaza, where hundreds of civilians from all religions have been living under bombs and bullets for more than two months", and offered "his condolences for the brutal killings of two parishioners days ago."
Before the Christmas mass in the Church of the Nativity in Bethlehem in the West Bank, Macron asked the Latin Patriarch to "convey a message of peace and solidarity to all Christians in the Holy Land and to assure them of France's support." Macron reaffirmed "France's commitment, particularly its distinctive role in protecting Christian communities exercised through the French Consulate General in Jerusalem." He emphasized that "this historically inherited responsibility will be fully upheld in facing the contemporary dangers burdening these communities." Macron also sent a message of "support and solidarity" to the Christian communities through the French consulate in Jerusalem.
