Trump should end Gaza war to win Nobel prize, says Macron

NEW YORK, Sept 24 (Reuters/AFP): If US President Donald Trump really wants to win the Nobel peace prize, he needs to stop the war in Gaza, French President Emmanuel Macron said on Tuesday.
Speaking to France's BFM TV from New York, Macron said only Trump had the power to put pressure on Israel to end the war.
"There is one person who can do something about it, and that is the US president," Macron said.
"And the reason he can do more than us, is because we do not supply weapons that allow the war in Gaza to be waged. We do not supply equipment that allows war to be waged in Gaza. The United States of America does."
Trump gave a combative, wide-ranging speech to the United Nations General Assembly on Tuesday that rejected moves by Western allies to endorse a Palestinian state, saying that would be a reward for Hamas militants.
"We have to stop the war in Gaza immediately. We have to immediately negotiate peace," Trump said.
Discussing Trump's speech, Macron said: "I see an American president who is involved, who reiterated this morning from the podium: 'I want peace. I have resolved seven conflicts', who wants the Nobel Peace Prize. The Nobel Peace Prize is only possible if you stop this conflict," Macron said.
Countries such as Cambodia, Israel and Pakistan are among those that have nominated Trump for the annual prize for brokering peace pacts or ceasefires.
Trump has said he deserves the Norwegian-bestowed accolade given to four of his White House predecessors.
Italy deploys frigate
after drone 'attack'
on Gaza aid flotilla
Italy's Defence Minister Guido Crosetto sent a navy frigate Wednesday to assist a Gaza-bound aid flotilla, after organisers said several of their boats had been targeted by drones off Greece.
The Global Sumud Flotilla said more than a dozen explosions were heard around the flotilla late Tuesday, with damage caused by "unidentified objects" dropped on deck.
Crosetto said he "authorised the immediate intervention of the Italian Navy's multi-purpose frigate Fasan, which was sailing north of Crete as part of Operation Safe Sea".
"The vessel is already en route to the area for possible rescue operations", he said in a statement posted on X.
The Global Sumud Flotilla (GSF) set sail from Barcelona this month with the aim of breaking the Israeli blockade of Gaza and delivering humanitarian aid.