The German Chancellor stressed the need to increase humanitarian aid to Gaza, while criticizing Israel’s decision to eliminate international aid programs in favor of the US-run Gaza Humanitarian Fund.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on July 18 called for an immediate ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and strongly criticized Israel’s current approach, saying it was “no longer acceptable.”
Mr. Merz stressed the need to increase humanitarian aid to Gaza, while criticizing Israel’s decision to eliminate international aid programs in favor of the controversial US-run Gaza Humanitarian Fund (GHF).
This, he said, makes the people of Gaza even more desperate.
The German Chancellor said she had made her position clear to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in phone calls, affirming that Berlin does not support Israel’s settlement policy and is trying to “do the right thing for both sides.”
However, he also affirmed that Israel needs to be protected and Germany will not support the suspension of the agreement between the European Union (EU) and Israel.
Germany has been one of Israel’s strongest supporters in the war in Gaza, citing its “historical responsibility” towards the Jewish state.
Israel launched a military operation in Gaza after an October 7, 2023 attack by Hamas that killed about 1,200 people.
According to Hamas-controlled health authorities, more than 58,000 people have died in Gaza, while an independent survey estimates the number could be closer to 84,000.
In a related development, the director of Israel’s Mossad intelligence agency, David Barnea, visited Washington this week to seek support from the Trump administration for its plan to relocate Palestinians from the Gaza Strip.
Axios news agency quoted two sources familiar with the matter as saying that Mr. Barnea told US Special Envoy Steve Witkoff that Ethiopia, Indonesia and Libya had shown goodwill to accept Palestinian refugees from Gaza, and that Washington should offer âincentivesâ to convince these countries to accept resettlement.
However, a source said Mr Witkoff had not made any commitment to the proposal.
US officials also said that the White House currently does not support the relocation of Palestinians from Gaza, in the context of strong opposition from Arab countries./.
