Latest news with #Johann Wadephul
CTV News
02-08-2025
- Politics
- CTV News
Germany says ‘very insufficient' aid entering Gaza
Palestinians carry sacks of flour unloaded from a humanitarian aid convoy that reached Gaza City from the northern Gaza Strip, Sunday, July 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Jehad Alshrafi) 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 spokesman 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 organizations'. 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 co-ordinating 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 October 7, 2023, that resulted in the deaths of 1,219 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures. Israel's military offensive on Gaza since then has killed at least 60,249 Palestinians, according to Gaza's health ministry. The UN considers the ministry's figures reliable. © Agence France-Presse
Sky News
01-08-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Gaza latest: Whole of Gaza 'facing food crisis, emergency or catastrophe' - as top Trump ally 'visits aid site'
German minister visiting West Bank - as Berlin begins Gaza aid drops today The German foreign minister is visiting the West Bank today, and meeting with Palestinian leaders. Johann Wadephul is meeting with Mahmoud Abbas, president of the Palestinian Authority, among others, in Ramallah. Ahead of the West Bank visit, Wadephul said: "Germany stands by all those who need humanitarian aid. "Aid, as it can be provided by the UN. "Due to insufficient Israeli security commitments, the UN is currently unable to do so. This must change." It comes after Wadephul met with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem yesterday. Aid airdrops Berlin also began air-dropping aid supplies into Gaza today, with two flights carrying 14 tonnes of supplies. "The flights can only make a very small contribution to providing those affected on the ground with the bare essentials," defence minister Boris Pistorius said, adding that he expected Israel to "ensure comprehensive humanitarian supplies" for people in the enclave. We brought you news earlier today that France carried out aid airdrops - see our 9.35 post.
LBCI
31-07-2025
- Politics
- LBCI
Germany says Israel 'increasingly in the minority' on Palestinian issue
Germany's foreign minister said Thursday that Israel was increasingly isolated diplomatically over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the push by some countries to recognise a Palestinian state. Johann Wadephul said in a statement before heading to Israel that the recent U.N. conference on a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict -- boycotted by the U.S. and Israel -- showed that "Israel is finding itself increasingly in the minority." AFP
Al Arabiya
31-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Germany says Israel ‘increasingly in the minority' on Palestinian issue
Germany's foreign minister said Thursday that Israel was increasingly isolated diplomatically over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the push by some countries to recognize a Palestinian state. Johann Wadephul said in a statement before heading to Israel that the recent UN conference on a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict -- boycotted by the US and Israel -- showed that 'Israel is finding itself increasingly in the minority.' Germany is one of Israel's staunchest diplomatic allies but Wadephul noted that 'in view of the open threats of annexation by some in the Israeli government, a growing number of European countries are ready to recognize a state of Palestine without previous negotiations.' Last week more than 70 Israeli lawmakers, including some in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition, passed a motion urging the government to impose sovereignty over the occupied West Bank. Wadephul repeated Berlin's position that 'the recognition of a Palestinian state should come at the end of the process' of negotiations. He did however sharpen his tone slightly by insisting that 'this process must begin now' and that 'Germany will also be forced to react to unilateral moves.' Wadephul is expected to meet his Israeli counterpart Gideon Saar and President Isaac Herzog, as well as Netanyahu. He will also travel to the West Bank to meet Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
Arab News
31-07-2025
- Politics
- Arab News
Germany says Israel ‘increasingly in the minority' on Palestinian issue
BERLIN: Germany's foreign minister said Thursday that Israel was increasingly isolated diplomatically over the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the push by some countries to recognize a Palestinian Wadephul said in a statement before heading to Israel that the recent UN conference on a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict — boycotted by the US and Israel — showed that 'Israel is finding itself increasingly in the minority.'Germany is one of Israel's staunchest diplomatic allies but Wadephul noted that 'in view of the open threats of annexation by some in the Israeli government, a growing number of European countries are ready to recognize a state of Palestine without previous negotiations.'Last week more than 70 Israeli lawmakers, including some in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's right-wing coalition, passed a motion urging the government to impose sovereignty over the occupied West repeated Berlin's position that 'the recognition of a Palestinian state should come at the end of the process' of did however sharpen his tone slightly by insisting that 'this process must begin now' and that 'Germany will also be forced to react to unilateral moves.'Wadephul is expected to meet his Israeli counterpart Gideon Saar and President Isaac Herzog, as well as will also travel to the West Bank to meet Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas.
