French Foreign Ministry still waiting for Israeli authorities to explain killing of staff in Gaza airstrike

By Nur Asena Erturk

The French Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday it is still awaiting an explanation from Israeli authorities about the killing of its staff in Gaza last week.

A French Foreign Ministry staffer succumbed to injuries from an Israeli airstrike in Rafah in southern Gaza, the ministry said on Saturday.

It added that the house of a colleague from the French Consulate where the staffer took shelter was bombed on Wednesday evening.

"Our colleague has been working for France since 2002," the ministry said in a statement, offering condolences to the victim's family.

The victim was Ahmad Abu Shamla, according to Elsa Faucillon, a left-wing French lawmaker.

Israel has bombarded the Gaza Strip from the air and land, imposed a siege and mounted a ground offensive in retaliation for a cross-border attack by Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7.

More than 19,600 Palestinians, mostly children and women, have since been killed and over 52,500 injured in Israeli attacks, according to Gaza’s health authorities.

The Israeli death toll in the Hamas attack stands at 1,200, while more than 130 hostages are still held by the Palestinian group in Gaza, according to official figures.

*Writing by Nur Asena Erturk in Ankara