Israeli airstrike hits French Institute in Gaza and AFP office

The French Institute in Gaza was hit by an Israeli airstrike, but no injuries were reported among staff at the site, the French foreign ministry said on Friday, while the Gaza office of news organization Agence France-Presse (AFP) was also hit.

The ministry added it had asked Israeli authorities to provide the “tangible” reasons that motivated the strike on the institute “without delay.”

In a separate statement, the ministry also expressed “very strong concerns” over the number of civilian victims in Gaza.

AFP said on social network X that its office in the Gaza Strip was shelled by the Israeli army and seriously damaged on Thursday by a strike.

None of the eight AFP staff members or permanent employees normally based in Gaza were on site at the time of the impact. All were evacuated to the south of the Gaza Strip on October 13, it added.

“AFP condemns in the strongest terms this strike on its office in Gaza City,” it said.