French foreign ministry staffer killed in Israeli airstrike in Rafah

France has condemned the killing of a member of staff working for its foreign ministry after an Israeli airstrike hit a residential building in the city of Rafah in the southern Gaza Strip.

The strike, which killed 10 others who were sheltering in the building, occurred on Wednesday, with the foreign ministry releasing a statement late on Saturday.

"France condemns this bombing of a residential building which caused the death of many other civilians. We demand that all light be shed by the Israeli authorities on the circumstances of this bombing, as quickly as possible," the ministry said in the statement.

According to the ministry the employee had been working for France since 2002, with some of his family members already being evacuated from Gaza.

The announcement of his death by the French foreign ministry comes as France increases its diplomatic pressure on Israel to minimise civilian casualties in its ongoing bombardment of Gaza.

French Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna, who travelled to Israel on Sunday, called for an "immediate and durable" truce in Gaza during a meeting with her Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen.

Colonna added that France was "deeply concerned" at the ongoing situation adding that "too many civilians are being killed".

Israel's ongoing military campaign in Gaza has killed at least 18,800 people, according to Gaza's health ministry, of which 8,000 are children. A further 51,000 people have been wounded.

During her meeting with Cohen Colonna also condemned Hamass' 7 October attack on southern Israel that killed 1,140 people, with 240 captives also being taken.

The comments from France come after it issued a joint declaration alongside several Western countries including the UK, Spain, and Canada, condemning extremist settler attacks in the occupied West Bank.

"Israel, as the occupying power, must protect the Palestinian civilian population in the West Bank", the statement read, as the death toll from Israeli raids and settler attacks in the West Bank reached 297 people, with 3,365 injured.

As well as visiting Tel Aviv, Colonna also met her Palestinian counterpart, Riyad al-Maliki, in the occupied West Bank.