Gaza: The French Institute and the Agence France-Presse office were hit by an Israeli airstrike

The French Institute in Gaza was hit by an Israeli airstrikebut no staff injuries have been reported, the French foreign ministry said today, while the Gaza offices of the Agence France-Presse (AFP) were also hit.

According to the French foreign ministry, there were no institute workers or French citizens at the site at the time of the raid.

The French ministry added that it had asked the Israeli authorities to communicate “without delay” the “specific” reasons that caused the blow to the institute.

In a separate announcement, the ministry also expressed “very strong concerns” on the number of civilian casualties in Gaza.

AFP reported on social media X that its office in the Gaza Strip was bombed by the Israeli army and was badly damaged by a blow yesterday, Thursday.

The @AFP bureau in the Gaza Strip, which has been relentlessly bombed by Israel, was significantly damaged by a strike on the building, according to a staff member who visited the site. [1/5] pic.twitter.com/a5sO7NrN38

— AFP News Agency (@AFP) November 3, 2023

None of the eight AFP staff or permanent employees normally based in Gaza were in the building when it was hit. All were evacuated to the southern part of the Gaza Strip on October 13, he added.

Interrogated by AFP, a spokesman for the Israeli army indicated that its services had “verified [l’information] à de multiples reprises” et qu’il n’y avait “pas eu de frappe de [l’armée israélienne] sur le bâtiment” de l’AFP à Gaza 4/5 pic.twitter.com/lBQUgi3Xuw

— Agence France-Presse (@afpfr) November 3, 2023

“The AFP condemns in the strongest possible terms the attack on its office in Gaza City,” it said.