The Hamas-led attack in Israel has claimed a third French victim. Interviewed on RTL this Tuesday morning, Raphaël Morav, Israel's ambassador to France, confirmed the death of a third Frenchman, without saying more. The death has not been confirmed by the French authorities. The death toll could rise further, while some are likely to be held hostage.
Earlier on RTL, Meyer Habib, MP for the 8th constituency of French nationals abroad, had already mentioned this death. "The family has identified the body of the missing person," the MP said. He is "a young person," he added, without elaborating.
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Fourteen French nationals are still missing, including 12-and-a-half-year-old Eitan, who was abducted by individuals on a motorcycle. The boy lives with his family in Kibbutz Nir Oz, located in southern Israel, just a few hundred meters from the Gaza Strip. While his mother and one of his sisters were able to flee, his father is also missing.
"We have to be extremely careful," says Véran
On franceinfo, Olivier Véran calls for "caution". "It's not up to me to confirm this, there is a channel to follow, possibly allowing us to warn the families," the government spokesman said. "I don't have any information," he said, "I'll tell you what we can fear, 14 French people have not given any sign of life and good health, we must remain extremely careful: missing person does not automatically mean hostage or victim," he tried to reassure.
The Quai d'Orsay announced on Sunday evening that a French woman had been killed in Israel. According to Le Parisien, the second victim, whose death was announced on Monday, could be Benjamin L., a French-Israeli in his twenties and a soldier in the Israeli army. The son of a rabbi from a large Jewish community in the Essonne department, he is believed to have lost his life on the border with the Gaza Strip.