France Demands Israel Explain Strike On Gaza French Institute

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GAZA
TOPSHOT - A Palestinian youth looks for salvageable items amid the rubbe of the Kuhail building which was destroyed in an early morning Israeli airstrike on Gaza City on May 18, 2021. The building had a printshop and university accessories and books storage facility for educational institutes in Gaza as well as a mosque. - The UN Security Council was due to hold an emergency meeting today amid a flurry of urgent diplomacy aimed at stemming Israel air strikes that have killed more than 200 Palestinians. (Photo by MAHMUD HAMS / AFP)

France Demands Israel Explain Strike On Gaza French Institute

By AFP

 

France said Friday it had been informed by Israel that its forces had carried out a strike on the French Institute in Gaza, adding it was demanding an explanation.

“We were informed by the Israeli authorities that the French Institute in Gaza had been targeted by an Israeli strike,” the foreign ministry said in a statement.

“We have asked the Israeli authorities to communicate to us without delay… the tangible elements which motivated this decision,” it said.

No staff or French nationals were present at the time of the strike, the ministry said.

The government-backed French Institute runs cultural outreach programmes around the world.

The fighting between Palestinian militant group Hamas and Israel was triggered by Hamas’ bloody raids on October 7, which Israeli officials say killed more than 1,400 people.

The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says more than 9,200 people have died in Israeli bombardments, mostly women and children.