TEHRAN, Dec. 02 (MNA) – French President Emmanuel Macron warned Saturday that Israel's aim of eliminating the Palestinian militant group Hamas risked unleashing a decade of war.

Achieving the "total destruction of Hamas" would mean "the war will last 10 years", Macron said at a press conference on the sidelines of the UN's COP28 climate talks in Dubai.

"So this objective must be clarified," he added.

In the meantime, the EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell has criticized the Zionist regime for its atrocities in a post on his account. 

"Regrettably, hostilities resumed in #Gaza and we see how the already very high civilian death toll continues to increase," Borrell wrote

"The way Israel exercises its right to self-defence matters," he added.

"It's imperative that Israel respects International Humanitarian Law and the laws of war," the top EU diplomat further asserted.

The Zionist forces resumed bombing the Gaza Strip early Friday after declaring an end to a week-long humanitarian pause with the Palestinian resistance group, Hamas.

At least 178 Palestinians were killed and 589 injured on Friday in Zionist airstrikes, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

The humanitarian pause began on Nov. 24 as part of an agreement between Israel and Hamas to temporarily halt fighting to allow hostage swaps and aid delivery.

More than 15,000 Palestinians, mostly children and women, have been killed in Israeli attacks since Oct. 7 following a cross-border attack by Hamas.

Around 1,200 Zionist regime soldiers and Zionist settlers were killed, according to official estimates.

MNA