Germany warned Wednesday that Israel’s military escalation in Gaza will not bring peace, urging restraint and renewed focus on a political solution.
Due to what the UN has declared to be a genocide in Gaza, Germany is under pressure from other countries to accept EU sanctions on Israel.
“The federal government has always made it clear that it rejects these military operations, which only lead to more deaths, injuries and displacement,”
government spokesman Stefan Kornelius told a press briefing in Berlin.
“The federal government is therefore very dismayed by the fate of the civilian population and the humanitarian situation, and in contrast to other governments, we are increasingly less aware of how these military operations can effectively lead to a lasting peace,”
he added.
In response to a question concerning the suggested measures, Kornelius stated that his administration "has not yet formed a final opinion" regarding the plans for EU sanctions against Israel.
In what it described as an escalating ground effort to take the major metropolitan center in the enclave, the Israeli army claimed to have carried out more than 150 air and artillery strikes on Gaza City in the last two days.
The campaign on Gaza City follows weeks after Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's plan to retake the whole Gaza Strip, beginning with the heavily populated city, was approved by Israel's government.
Israeli soldiers have been using artillery, drone attacks, and booby-trapped robots to bombard apartment buildings and residential towers since early August.
Since October 2023, the Israeli army has murdered about
65,000 Palestinians in Gaza, the majority of whom were women and children.
Famine has resulted from the constant shelling, which has made the enclave
uninhabitable.
What concerns does Germany have about Israel’s strategy in Gaza?
Chancellor Friedrich Merz and his administration stated that there is "great concern" about the growing number of civilian casualties in Gaza: deaths, injuries, and those who are "persons displaced."
Germany also criticized the blockade and restrictions that only exacerbated humanitarian crises and civilian suffering all necessary supplies of food, water, fuel, and medical assistance were restricted.
The government also believes that some actions of the
Israeli state violate international law, such as annexation of Palestinian
territory and the occupation of land in Palestine on a larger scale.