French Foreign Ministry Says Worker Killed by Israeli Attack in Rafah

Palestinians search for casualties at the site of Israeli strikes on houses in Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, October 31, 2023. (Reuters)
Palestinians search for casualties at the site of Israeli strikes on houses in Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, October 31, 2023. (Reuters)
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French Foreign Ministry Says Worker Killed by Israeli Attack in Rafah

Palestinians search for casualties at the site of Israeli strikes on houses in Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, October 31, 2023. (Reuters)
Palestinians search for casualties at the site of Israeli strikes on houses in Jabalia refugee camp in the northern Gaza Strip, October 31, 2023. (Reuters)

The French foreign ministry said one of its workers had died as a result of wounds sustained during an Israeli attack in Rafah, in the south of the Gaza Strip.

The man was seeking refuge in the house of a colleague from the French consulate alongside two other co-workers and a number of their family members, the ministry statement issued late on Saturday said.

"The house was hit by an Israeli air strike on Wednesday evening, which seriously hurt our agent and killed about 10 others," it said, adding he had later died of his wounds, Reuters reported.

The statement said France condemned the bombing of a residential building.

"We demand that the Israeli authorities shed full light on the circumstances of this bombing, as soon as possible," it said.

The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment. A spokesperson for the French foreign ministry declined to provide further details on the name, nationality and age of the worker.

"We're waiting for clarification (from Israel)," said French Foreign Affairs Minister Catherine Colonna shortly after meeting her Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen in Tel Aviv on Sunday.

She called for an "immediate truce" between Hamas and Israel to allow for a humanitarian ceasefire.

Israel says it seeks to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, according to international law, though critics and even its closest ally, the US, say it needs to do more.



Harris and Trump Target Michigan as Both Parties Try to Shore Up 'Blue Wall' Votes

This combination of pictures created on October 16, 2024 shows former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in Cumming, Georgia, on October 15, 2024 and US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris in Detroit, Michigan, October 15, 2024. (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage and Geoff Robins / AFP)
This combination of pictures created on October 16, 2024 shows former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in Cumming, Georgia, on October 15, 2024 and US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris in Detroit, Michigan, October 15, 2024. (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage and Geoff Robins / AFP)
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Harris and Trump Target Michigan as Both Parties Try to Shore Up 'Blue Wall' Votes

This combination of pictures created on October 16, 2024 shows former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in Cumming, Georgia, on October 15, 2024 and US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris in Detroit, Michigan, October 15, 2024. (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage and Geoff Robins / AFP)
This combination of pictures created on October 16, 2024 shows former US President and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump in Cumming, Georgia, on October 15, 2024 and US Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris in Detroit, Michigan, October 15, 2024. (Photo by Elijah Nouvelage and Geoff Robins / AFP)

Kamala Harris and Donald Trump will both be scouring for votes in Michigan on Friday as they try to lock down support in this key political battleground.
Harris, the Democratic vice president, is scheduled to begin her day in Grand Rapids before holding events in Lansing and Oakland County, which is northwest of Detroit.
Trump, the Republican former president, has his own event in Oakland County in the afternoon before holding a rally in Detroit in the evening, The Associated Press said.
Michigan is one of three “blue wall” states that, along with Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, will help decide the election.
Trump's event in Detroit will be his first one there since insulting the city last week. While warning what will happen if Harris is elected, he said that “our whole country will end up being like Detroit."
The city spent years hemorrhaging residents and businesses, plunging into deep financial problems, before rebounding in recent years.
One challenge for Harris in Michigan has been union support. Although traditionally a Democratic bloc, she's failed to win some key endorsements.
In addition, Arab American voters have been skeptical of Harris because of the White House's steadfast support for Israel's military operations in Gaza.
Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, a co-chair of Harris’ campaign, said in an interview Thursday that the expectation was always that “it was going to be a close election."
“People are like, ‘Oh it’s so close.’ And I’m like, have you not been listening for decades?” Whitmer said. “Michigan is a divided state. And that’s why we don’t write off the reddest of areas on a political map. We show up.”
Kent County, where Harris will start her day Friday, leaned Republican for many years, and was won by Trump by 3% in 2016. But Biden won the county in 2020 and it has increasingly voted Democratic recently.