France says worker killed by Israeli attack in southern Gaza

The man who was wounded on Wednesday was a Palestinian national who had worked for the French Institute for decades, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna told journalists at the end of a trip to Israel and the West Bank. He 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 foreign ministry said earlier.

(Adds comments from French foreign minister in paragraphs 2 and 7) Dec 17 (Reuters) -

France said on Sunday 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 who was wounded on Wednesday was a Palestinian national who had worked for the French Institute for decades, French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna told journalists at the end of a trip to Israel and the West Bank.

He 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 foreign ministry said earlier. "The house was hit by an Israeli air strike on Wednesday evening, which seriously hurt our agent and killed about 10 others," the ministry said.

He later died of his wounds, it added, without giving a date. France condemned the bombing of a residential building.

"We've asked for explanations as to why the house ... had been hit," Colonna told the news conference at Israel's Ben Gurion airport. The Israeli military did not respond to a request for comment.

Colonna called for an "immediate and lasting truce" between Hamas and Israel to allow for a humanitarian ceasefire and urged Israel to "protect the lives of civilians as required by international law.". Israel says it seeks to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, according to international law, though critics and even its closest ally, the U.S., say it needs to do more.

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