Watch: Israeli president Herzog meets with Macron as more hostages released

Watch as Emmanuel Macron meets with Isaac Herzog in Israel on Tuesday, 24 October.

The French president will hold talks with his Israeli counterpart as well as Israel’s prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and centrist opposition leaders Benny Gantz and Yair Lapid to express his solidarity.

While visiting Tel Aviv, Mr Macron will meet families of French nationals who were killed or held hostage in the Hamas attack on 7 October.

Mr Macron said nine French citizens remain missing following the attack.

“We are linked to Israel through mourning,” he said.

Mr Macron’s visit is aimed “to avoid a dangerous escalation in the region”, a French presidential statement said.

It comes as two elderly women, Yocheved Lifshitz and Nurit Cooper, were released by Hamas on Monday night.

They were handed over to the Red Cross at the Rafah crossing on Monday evening.

The Foreign Office said that both women are Israelis, and Ms Lifshitz’s daughter is based in the UK.