France parliament president 'refuses' minute's silence for state employee killed in Gaza

The president of the lower house of France's parliament has come under fire after allegedly "refusing" to hold a minute's silence for a French foreign ministry employee killed by Israel in Gaza.

The foreign ministry issued a statement on Saturday saying it was "deeply shocked" to learn of the death of an employee from injuries sustained in Israeli bombing.

It said the incident in Rafah in southern Gaza had killed around 10 other people and that Paris "condemns this bombing of a residential building".

The statement did not name the member of staff killed, but official Turkish news agency Anadolu reported that parliamentarian Elsa Faucillon had identified him as Ahmad Abu Shamla.

Mathilde Panot, the left-wing France Unbowed party's chief in the National Assembly, said she had asked on Tuesday for a minute's silence to be held for Abu Shamla in the lower house of parliament.

"The president of the National Assembly refused it," she said on social media platform X, adding: "Shameful."

Abu Shamla's killing comes as part of Israel's indiscriminate war on the Gaza Strip, which has so far killed 20,000 people.

Hospitals, ambulances, and places of worship have been attacked.