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French President Emmanuel Macron called Saturday for a halt on arms deliveries to Israel for use in its war on Gaza, provoking a sharp response from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

He also criticised Netanyahu's decision to send troops into a ground invasion of Lebanon.

"I think that today, the priority is that we return to a political solution, that we stop delivering weapons to fight in Gaza," Macron told French broadcaster France Inter.

"France is not delivering any," he added during the interview, which was recorded Tuesday.

Macron reiterated his concern over the war in Gaza that is continuing despite repeated calls for a ceasefire.

"I think we are not being heard," he said. "I think it is a mistake, including for the security of Israel," he said, adding that the conflict was leading to "hatred".

His comments brought a swift response from Netanyahu.

"As Israel fights the forces of barbarism led by Iran, all civilised countries should be standing firmly by Israel's side," Netanyahu said in a statement issued by his office.

"Yet, President Macron and other Western leaders are now calling for arms embargoes against Israel. Shame on them."

Israel was fighting a war on several fronts against groups backed by arch-foe Iran, the statement added.

Macron' office responded with a statement of its own later Saturday.

France is a "steadfast friend of Israel", it said, describing Netanyahu's reaction as "excessive and detached from the friendship between France and Israel".

Ceasefire call

In his interview, Macron also said avoiding an escalation in Lebanon was a "priority."

"Lebanon cannot become a new Gaza," he added.

And he returned to the subject Saturday in a speech to a conference of French-speaking nations in Paris.

While both Paris and Washington had called for a ceasefire, said Macron, "I regret that Prime Minister Netanyahu has made another choice, has taken this responsibility, in particular, for ground operations on Lebanese soil."

The 88 members of the International Organisation of La Francophonie (OIF), including France and Canada, have called for an "immediate and lasting" ceasefire in Lebanon, he added.

But Macron reaffirmed Israel's right to self-defence and said that on Monday he would be meeting relatives of Franco-Israelis held captive in Gaza.

On Monday, Israel marks the first anniversary of the October 7 Hamas attack that sparked the Gaza war and has now engulfed neighbouring Lebanon, creating a perilous regional crisis. Hamas says the attack was in response to decades of Israeli occupation and aggression.