France's Foreign Ministry on Thursday said the number of French nationals killed during Saturday's Hamas attacks in Israel had risen to 12. A further 17 remain missing, including four children.
“We deplore a new death, which brings to 12 the number of French victims,” ministry spokesperson Anne-Claire Legendre told journalists, adding the lack of infirmation on those missing was very worrying.
Legendre said Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna would be at Charles de Gaulle airport on Thursday evening to welcome the first flight repatriating French nationals from Israel.
The chartered Air France plane was to depart from Tel Aviv.
The Foreign Ministry said additional flights would be organised on Friday and Saturday, with vulnerable people such as unaccompanied minors, pregnant women and injured or disabled people to be given priority.
Fears for hostages
Meanwhile Israel's military spokesperson said authorities had confirmed the identities of 97 people taken into Gaza as hostages by Hamas.
Israel has said it will not allow basic resources or humanitarian aid into Gaza until Hamas releases them.
The International Committee of the Red Cross says it is in contact with both Hamas and Israel to try to negotiate the release of hostages, adding the humanitarian situation in Gaza would become "unmanageable very quickly".
The death toll in Gaza has risen to at least 1,354, the Hamas health ministry said, with dozens killed since Thursday morning following a massive Israeli bombardment of the enclave.
At least 1,200 Israelis were killed in the Hamas attack.
French divisions
French political leaders met with President Emmanuel Macron on Thursday for closed-door talks to flesh out divisions raised by the violence.
The far-left France Unbowed party has refused to denounce Hamas as terrorists.
French police have arrested more than 20 people in relation to more than a hundred "antisemitic acts" reported since Saturday’s attack.
