
Germany says it is ready to ramp up pressure on Israel over Gaza aid
'The chancellor was very clear in the phone conversation with the Israeli prime minister … that the federal government is prepared to increase the pressure if progress is not made,' the spokesperson said, without providing details.
'In principle, we are prepared to take further steps, which is also the purpose of this afternoon's security meeting,' he said, referring to a meeting of the German security cabinet.
Yesterday, Merz called on Netanyahu 'to do everything in his power to achieve an immediate ceasefire. He urged him to provide the starving civilian population in Gaza with urgently needed humanitarian aid now'.
'This aid must reach the civilian population quickly, safely, and in the required quantities,' said a German government statement.

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


L'Orient-Le Jour
an hour ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
Germany says 'very insufficient' aid entering Gaza
The amount of aid entering Gaza remains "very insufficient" despite a limited improvement, the German government said on Saturday after ministers discussed ways to heighten pressure on Israel. The criticism came after Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul visited the region on Thursday and Friday, and the German military staged its first food airdrops into Gaza, where aid agencies say that more than two million Palestinians are facing starvation. Germany "notes limited initial progress in the delivery of humanitarian aid to the population of the Gaza Strip, which, however, remains very insufficient to alleviate the emergency situation," government spokesperson Stefan Kornelius said in a statement. "Israel remains obligated to ensure the full delivery of aid," Kornelius added. Facing mounting international criticism over its military operations in Gaza, Israel has allowed more trucks to cross the border and some foreign nations to carry out airdrops of food and medicines. International agencies say the amount of aid entering Gaza is still dangerously low, however. The United Nations has said that 6,000 trucks are awaiting permission from Israel to enter the occupied Palestinian territory. The German government, traditionally a strong supporter of Israel, also expressed "concern regarding reports that large quantities of humanitarian aid are being withheld by Hamas and criminal organisations." Israel has alleged that much of the aid arriving in the territory is being siphoned off by Hamas, which runs Gaza. The Israeli army is accused of having equipped Palestinian criminal networks in its fight against Hamas and of allowing them to plunder aid deliveries. "The real theft of aid since the beginning of the war has been carried out by criminal gangs, under the watch of Israeli forces," Jonathan Whittall of OCHA, the United Nations agency for coordinating humanitarian affairs, told reporters in May. A German government source told AFP it had noted that Israel has "considerably" increased the number of aid trucks allowed into Gaza to about 220 a day. Berlin has taken a tougher line against Israel's actions in Gaza and the occupied West Bank in recent weeks. The source said that a German security cabinet meeting on Saturday discussed "the different options" for putting pressure on Israel, but no decision was taken. A partial suspension of arms deliveries to Israel is one option that has been raised. Hamas militants launched an attack in Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, that resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. Israel's war on Gaza since then has killed at least 60,249 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry. The U.N. considers the Ministry's figures reliable.


Nahar Net
an hour ago
- Nahar Net
Israel army chief warns of combat 'without rest' unless hostages are freed
Israel army chief warns of combat 'without rest' unless hostages are freed Israel's top general has warned that there will be no respite in fighting in Gaza if negotiations fail to quickly secure the release of hostages held in the Palestinian territory. "I estimate that in the coming days we will know whether we can reach an agreement for the release of our hostages," said army chief of staff Lieutenant General Eyal Zamir, according to a military statement. "If not, the combat will continue without rest," he said, during remarks to officers inside Gaza on Friday. Footage released by the Israeli military showed Zamir meeting soldiers and officers in a command centre. Of the 251 people who were kidnapped from Israel during Hamas's attack in October 2023, 49 remain in Gaza, 27 of them dead, according to the military. Palestinian armed groups this week released two videos of hostages looking emaciated and weak. Negotiations -- mediated by the United States, Egypt and Qatar -- to secure a ceasefire and their release broke down last month, and some in Israel have called for tougher military action. This comes against the backdrop of growing pressure -- both internationally and domestically, including from many of the hostages' families -- to resume efforts to secure a ceasefire in the nearly 22-month conflict. Aid agencies have meanwhile warned that Gaza's population is facing a catastrophic famine, triggered by Israeli restrictions on aid. Zamir nonetheless rejected these allegations out of hand. "The current campaign of false accusations of intentional starvation is a deliberate, timed, and deceitful attempt to accuse the IDF (military), a moral army, of war crimes," he said. "The ones responsible for the killing and suffering of the residents in the Gaza Strip is Hamas." Hamas's 2023 attack resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, mostly civilians, according to a tally based on official figures. A total of 898 Israeli soldiers have also been killed since ground troops were sent into Gaza, according to the military. Israel's campaign in Gaza has killed at least 60,332 people in Gaza, mostly civilians, according to figures from the Hamas-run territory's health ministry, deemed reliable by the U.N.


L'Orient-Le Jour
5 hours ago
- L'Orient-Le Jour
US envoy meets Israeli hostage families in Tel Aviv
U.S. envoy Steve Witkoff met Saturday with the families of Israeli hostages held in Gaza, according to the main association representing those still in captivity almost 22 months after being seized during Hamas's October 2023 attacks. A cellphone video posted online showed the Washington negotiator arriving in a square in Tel Aviv that has become known for protests by supporters of the hostages' families, and being greeted with applause and pleas for help.