Right-wing European leaders urge Israel to show restraint in Gaza

Right-wing European leaders on Wednesday said Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ought to show restraint in Gaza, but they did not indicate that they would take any measures to hold him accountable.

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Israel should more carefully consider how it carries out its air strikes in Gaza, given the lives of the Israeli captives are at stake there, but also said Netanyahu should still be able to visit Germany despite an outstanding International Criminal Court warrant for his arrest.

Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni on Wednesday said that Israel must respect international law, and she called the humanitarian situation in Gaza "dramatic and unjustifiable".

On Tuesday, French President Emmanuel Macron called out Netanyahu's policy in Gaza as "shameful" and "unacceptable".

Netanyahu later said Macron was siding with Hamas.