France in grief over death of hostage in Gaza – foreign minister

France is in ‘immense pain’ over the news that Elia Toledano, a young man and French citizen who had been held hostage in Gaza amid the conflict with Israel, has died, Foreign Minister Catherine Colonna said on Friday.

“We share the grief of his family and loved ones”, Colonna said in a post on social network X, after Israeli authorities had confirmed Toledano’s identity, whose body had been found in Gaza.

Toledano was part of the group of people kidnapped by Hamas terrorists while taking part in an open-air music festival in early October, newspaper Le Figaro reported.