France will provide an opportunity to remember French citizens killed in the Israeli bombardments of Gaza as the country prepares this week to pay tribute to citizens killed in the attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7, a presidential official said on Monday, reports FRANCE 24.
President Emmanuel Macron will on Wednesday host a major ceremony at the Invalides memorial complex in Paris in memory of the42 French citizens killed in the attack on Israel by the Palestinian militant group and three others still missing, believed to be held hostage.
Hamas's unprecedented October 7 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of about 1,160 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures. Militants also seized around 250 hostages, and Israel says 132 remain in Gaza including at least 28 believed to have been killed.
Israel launched a massive military offensive that has killed at least 27,365 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-ruled territory's health ministry.
Wednesday's ceremony at the Invalides "aims to pay tribute to the victims of a major terrorist attack committed by Hamas," a senior French presidential official, who asked not to be named, told reporters.
"Nevertheless, it is obvious that we owe the same emotion and the same dignity to the French victims of the bombings in Gaza, and this tribute will be paid to them at another time," the official added.