'Genocide' complaint filed in Paris over deaths of French citizens in Gaza airstrike - report

Jacqueline Rivault's complaint comes after her two grandchildren were killed in Gaza during an Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza.

 Smoke rises following an Israeli air strike in Gaza May 2, 2023. (photo credit: REUTERS/MOHAMMED SALEM)
Smoke rises following an Israeli air strike in Gaza May 2, 2023.
(photo credit: REUTERS/MOHAMMED SALEM)

A French woman has filed a legal complaint at Court of Paris' "crimes against humanity" section, accusing Israel of "genocide" and "murder," France24 reported on Friday, citing the woman's lawyer.

Jacqueline Rivault's complaint comes after her two grandchildren were killed in Gaza during an Israeli airstrike in northern Gaza, the French network reported.

The children had reportedly moved to a home "between Faluja and Beit Lahiya," following heavy bombardment of their own home, the complaint said, detailing that one missile entered "through the roof, and the second directly into the room where the family was." 

Rivault's complaint of "genocide" is "based on the airstrike being part of a larger Israeli project to "eliminate the Palestinian population and submit it to living conditions of a nature to entail the destruction of their group,"" said France24.

The children, aged six and nine, both held French citizenship, which will entitle France's judiciary to decide if it holds jurisdiction to appoint a magistrate to investigate the complaint, according to French24.

 People attend a demonstration against antisemitism at the Place de la Bastille after three teenagers aged 12 to 13 were indicted in Courbevoie, accused of rape and antisemitic violence against a 12-year-old girl, in Paris, France, June 20, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/JOHANNA GERON/FILE PHOTO)
People attend a demonstration against antisemitism at the Place de la Bastille after three teenagers aged 12 to 13 were indicted in Courbevoie, accused of rape and antisemitic violence against a 12-year-old girl, in Paris, France, June 20, 2024. (credit: REUTERS/JOHANNA GERON/FILE PHOTO)

Separate investigation into genocide claims opened in France 

Rivault's complaint comes as France's Anti-Terror Prosecutor's Office has opened a probe into "complicity in genocide" and incitement to genocide, investigating French-Israelis suspected of blocking aid intended for Gaza, France24 also reported on Friday, citing a source close to the case.

The stimulus for the investigation dates back to November 2024, when the Jewish Union for Peace and a French-Palestinian individual reportedly filed a complaint against Israel of "organizing, participating in and calling for the participation in concrete activities to block humanitarian aid" for Gaza, "including physically preventing the passage of trucks at border checkpoints controlled by the Israeli army."

No court has ruled that the conflict in Gaza is a genocide.

France's Defense Minister Sebastien Lecornu reaffirmed that his country is not selling any weapons to Israel, he said on the France news channel LCI on Friday.

"And for good reason: Israel is one of the main competitors of French industries," he added.