The French Institute in Gaza was targeted by an Israeli strike, the Foreign Ministry said on Friday – adding that no French employees or nationals were inside the building at the time of the attack. The Gaza office of the French news agency AFP was also seriously damaged a day earlier.
"We have been informed by the Israeli authorities that the French Institute in Gaza was targeted by an Israeli strike," the ministry said in a statement. It said Israeli authorities had been asked to explain the reasons for the strike "without delay".
Israel said on Thursday that it had completed the "encirclement" of Gaza City after a week of ground fighting against Hamas and deadly strikes on Palestinian territory, where four UN schools housing displaced people were hit.
The Gaza office of the French news agency AFP office was also seriously damaged by a strike Thursday.
“The AFP condemns in the strongest terms this strike on its office in Gaza City,” said CEO Fabrice Fries.
"The location of this office is known to everyone ... precisely to prevent such an attack and allow us to continue to bear witness in images on the ground."
According to live images from the AFP camera broadcasting 24 hours a day from Gaza City, the strike took place a few minutes before noon local time.
Second French helicopter carrier heads to Gaza
Meanwhile, France will send a second French helicopter carrier off the coast of Gaza as it works with Israeli and Egyptian authorities to find a way to provide medical assistance to people affected by the bombings in the besieged area.
Paris has already sent the Tonnerre carrier to the eastern Mediterranean on what President Emmanuel Macron described as a mission to support Gaza hospitals.
Egypt this week began admitting limited numbers of wounded across its Gaza border.
However, it is unclear what exactly the ships will do in the region as they are too small to work as field hospitals for the number of wounded coming from Gaza.
Condemnation
Government spokesman Olivier Véran on Friday said France condemned the attacks on UN sites following Israeli strikes on the Jabaliya refugee camp, the largest in the Gaza Strip.
Lecornu said the helicopter carrier Dixmude would also now be heading to the region. "It is being equipped to be transformed into a hospital vessel," Lecornu said.
A French military source said the Tonnerre, which has about 60 beds and two operating blocs, could only be used temporarily and as back-up for a larger hospital on land.
When asked how practical it would be to bring people from land to sea, Lecornu said things were still in the planning stages and discussions were ongoing with Egyptian and Israeli authorities.
This comes as US Secretary of State Antony Blinken arrived in Israel on Friday to press for more humanitarian aid to be allowed into Gaza, while Israeli troops tightened their encirclement of Gaza City.
Blinken is making his third trip to Israel since the 7 October Hamas attack. He will visit Tel Aviv and Amman in Jordan.
