Leaders from Europe and Arab world have gathered in Paris to work out how to shape Gaza's post-war future, after Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire and prisoner-captive swap proposed by US President Donald Trump.

Thursday's meeting in Paris aims to look at how Gaza would be governed, how Trump's 20-point Gaza plan would be implemented and assess other countries' collective commitments to the process.

Opening the meeting, French President Emmanuel Macron said the aim was to work side by side with the United States' plan and that the discussions in Paris were complementary to it.

Macron warned that the rapid expansion of illegal Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank poses an "existential threat" to the future state of Palestine, calling it "unacceptable and contrary to international law."

Macron said settlement construction "fuels tensions, violence and instability" and "directly contradicts the American peace plan and our collective ambition for the region."

"The acceleration of settlement construction in the West Bank constitutes an existential threat to the state of Palestine. It is not only unacceptable and contrary to international law, but it also contradicts the goals of the previous US administration, as it endangers the Abraham Accords," Macron said.

He urged all sides to avoid opening "another zone of conflict" as efforts continue to secure a permanent ceasefire and rebuild Gaza.

"We must remain very vigilant about the situation in the West Bank," he said.

Two-state solution

"Self-determination and the creation of a state, the unity of Gaza and the West Bank under the Palestinian Authority, must not remain a vague goal," he added.

European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas, attending the Paris meeting, said the bloc fully supports efforts to turn the ceasefire into a sustainable peace plan.

"This is the best chance we have right now," EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas told reporters. "But we need to work for the plan after (the war), so that it would be sustainable, and that's why we are also here."

Germany also called for a UN Security Council resolution to support Trump's Gaza peace plan and ensure its successful implementation.

"We believe that the UN Security Council should issue a resolution that provides legal certainty for all further steps and establishes a political framework. The UN is a unique organisation for world peace, security, and stability, and this institution can and must now fulfill its responsibilities," Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul told reporters in Paris.

Germany's top diplomat thanked Trump for his efforts in paving the way for a ceasefire in Gaza, and emphasised the crucial role of regional actors Türkiye, Qatar and Egypt in the process.

"The two-state solution remains the goal of all our efforts. But there are many steps to be taken before we get there," Wadephul said. "Today is a day of relief, but also a day on which we must be realistic and recognise that great efforts still lie ahead of us, that many discussions and negotiations will be necessary before this goal is achieved," he added.

Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said ahead of the meeting in Paris that leaders were seeking to "unite our voices, our strengths, and our ideas so that this path that is beginning to open today becomes irreversible and we can finally implement the two-state solution."

Albares called the moment "a path of hope" for a different future of coexistence, but stressed urgent priorities must come first.

The minister said the ultimate goal must be a "realistic and viable Palestinian state" under a single Palestinian authority, with Gaza and the occupied West Bank connected by a corridor, a port in Gaza, and occupied East Jerusalem as its capital, living side by side with Israel in mutual security and prosperity.

While acknowledging that "we are still very far" from achieving such a framework, he insisted every step taken must consolidate a permanent ceasefire and open the way to rebuilding Gaza so Palestinians can resume normal lives.