French President Emmanuel Macron on Friday called the killing of three people in southern France an act of "Islamist terrorism", Reuters said.
He added, however, that security services were still checking whether the Islamic State (ISIS) group was really behind the attack as it claimed.
"I want to tell the nation tonight of my absolute determination in leading this fight," Macron said, speaking alongside French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe.
"I urge our fellow French citizens to remain aware of the terrorist threat, but to also be aware of the force and resistance our people demonstrated each and every time it was attacked," he added.
Earlier on Friday, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu condemned the terrorist attack in France.
“The civilized world must unite and act together to defeat terror. On behalf of the Government of Israel, I send condolences to the families of those who were murdered and to the French people," he added.
Three people were killed in the shooting spree and hostage siege in southern France, after a gunman carried out three separate attacks in the medieval town of Carcassonne and nearby Trebes.
The gunman was identified as 26-year-old drug dealer Redouane Lakdim, who had been monitored as a possible Islamic extremist.
Lakdim, who is said by security sources to have Moroccan nationality, first hijacked a car in Carcassonne, killing a passenger and injuring the driver, before shooting and injuring a policeman who was out jogging.
After driving around 15 minutes to a Super U supermarket in the sleepy town of Trebes, shouting "Allahu Akbar", a witness reported.
He killed another two people and took hostages for more than three hours, armed with a knife and a gun, according to survivors. Another witness said he had grenades.
During the stand-off with police, he asked for unidentified prisoners to be released and was finally shot by anti-terror officers when they raided the premises.
(Arutz Sheva’s North American desk is keeping you updated until the start of Shabbat in New York. The time posted automatically on all Arutz Sheva articles, however, is Israeli time.)