Paris on Saturday “condemned” an Israeli bombing in the Gaza Strip that resulted in the death of a French Foreign Ministry agent and called for “all light to be shed on the darkness” of this tragedy “as soon as possible.”
“It is with great sadness that the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs learned of the death of one of its agents, who died from his injuries in an Israeli bomb attack in Rafah, southern Gaza Strip,” the Quai d'Orsay said in a statement.
“We demand that the Israeli authorities provide all information about the circumstances of this bombing as quickly as possible,” the French ministry said in a press release.
The agent, who has been working for France since 2022 and whose identity and nationality were not disclosed, had found refuge in the house of one of his colleagues in the French Consulate General along with two other colleagues and their family members.
“Complete solidarity with the bereaved of the Quai d'Orsay. It is high time to put our fists on the table against Netanyahu,” LFI MP for Essonne Antoine Léaument reacted on X (formerly Twitter).
“What will it take for the world to stop supporting Israel in its murderous madness? Right to respond to Hamas, yes! But that's no!”, commented the deputy for Drôme and vice-president of the Foreign Affairs Committee Mireille Clapot on the same social network.
The house where the agent sought refuge was hit by an Israeli bomb attack on Wednesday evening, killing about ten people.
Part of his family was able to leave Gaza for France as part of the evacuation system set up by France, which included French people present in the Gaza Strip, agents of the French Institute and their relatives.
Israel launched an air and then a land offensive in the Gaza Strip in retaliation for the Palestinian Islamist movement Hamas's unprecedented attack on Israeli soil on October 7.
According to Israel, 1,139 people, mostly civilians, were killed in this attack and about 250 were kidnapped and taken to Gaza. According to the army, there are still around 129 hostages, including bodies, in the Gaza Strip.
The Hamas Health Ministry reported Friday that Israeli bombings had killed 18,800 people, mostly women, children and teenagers.