French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday recognized a Palestinian state, leading a UN summit that already spurred other Western governments to take the landmark step that has infuriated Israel.

"The time for peace has come, as we are just moments away from no longer being able to seize it," Macron told the summit.

"The time has come to free the 48 hostages held by Hamas. The time has come to stop the war, the bombings of Gaza, the massacres and the displacement," Macron said.

Australia, Britain, Canada and Portugal also took the largely symbolic step of recognition on the eve of the summit called by France and Saudi Arabia, piling pressure on Israel as it intensifies its retaliatory war in Gaza that has killed tens of thousands of people.

Macron earlier said he would make the release

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