The French Foreign Ministry announced on Saturday that an employee of the French Consulate in Gaza died from injuries sustained in an Israeli airstrike. The unnamed employee had been working at the consulate since 2002.
He had taken refuge in a colleague’s house in Rafah with other colleagues and their families when the house was fatally bombed, as per the ministry’s report.
The French Foreign Ministry stated, “France condemns the bombing of a residential building that resulted in the deaths of many civilians. We demand a full explanation from the Israeli authorities regarding the circumstances of this bombing as soon as possible.”
CNN has reached out to the Israeli military for a comment on the incident. French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna visited Tel Aviv on Sunday to emphasize the need for a “new humanitarian ceasefire.”
She also expressed France’s solidarity with Israel following the October 7 attacks. Colonna highlighted Paris’s concern about the worsening “disastrous and tragic situation on the ground in Gaza,” noting that Israel should engage in a ceasefire to facilitate hostage release and aid delivery.
