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Agence France-Presse

Germany will halt the export of military equipment to Israel that could be used in the Gaza Strip, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Friday, sparking an angry response from Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
Berlin’s move, in response to an Israeli plan to take control of Gaza City, marks a drastic change of course for Germany, long one of Israel’s staunchest international allies.
Merz expressed “deep concern” at the suffering of Gaza’s civilians.
It was “increasingly unclear”, he said, how the latest Israeli military plan would help achieve the aims of disarming Hamas and freeing the remaining Israeli hostages.
“Under these circumstances, the German government will not authorise any exports of military equipment that could be used in the Gaza Strip until further notice,” he said in a statement.
Netanyahu spoke to Merz later Friday to express his “disappointment”, said a statement from the prime minister’s office.
“Instead of supporting Israel’s just war against Hamas, which carried out the most horrific attack against the Jewish people since the Holocaust, Germany is rewarding Hamas terrorism by embargoing arms to Israel,” it said.

Germany’s Central Council of Jews also called Merz’s decision “disappointing”, saying the government should “correct course” and increase pressure on Hamas instead.
Israel has until recently enjoyed broad support across the political spectrum in Germany, a country still seeking to atone for the World War II murder of more than 6 million Jews.
Between the Hamas attack of October 7, 2023 that started the Gaza war and May this year, Germany approved defence exports worth €485 million (US$565 million) to Israel.
The deliveries included firearms, ammunition, weapons parts, electronic equipment and armoured vehicles, the government said in June.
Merz reiterated that “Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas’ terror” and that “the release of the hostages and negotiations on a ceasefire are our top priorities”.
“The disarmament of Hamas is imperative. Hamas must not play a role in Gaza in future,” he said.
But “the new military push agreed by the Israeli security cabinet makes it increasingly unclear how these goals are to be achieved”, he added.
Merz’s decision is a dramatic step for Germany, where the chancellor’s tone towards Israel had been sharpening in recent months as the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza deteriorated further.

Vice-Chancellor Lars Klingbeil of the Social Democrats welcomed the “just decision”, saying “the humanitarian suffering in Gaza is unbearable”.
A poll published this week by public broadcaster ARD found that 66 per cent of Germans expected the government to exert greater influence over Israel to change its actions in Gaza.
However, while often voicing concern, Germany had so far avoided major concrete steps.
It refrained from following France, Britain and Canada, which have announced plans to recognise a Palestinian state in September, arguing recognition must come at the end of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations.
Berlin has also opposed the suspension of the EU-Israel Association Agreement, which had been under review by the bloc.
Global alarm has been growing over the suffering in Gaza, where a UN-backed assessment has warned that famine is unfolding.
German air force planes have joined others with humanitarian aid airdrops over the war-battered coastal territory.


Merz said that “with the planned offensive, the Israeli government bears even greater responsibility” for providing aid to Gaza and again urged “comprehensive access” for UN agencies and aid groups.
He also said his government had urged Israel “to refrain from taking any further steps toward an annexation of the West Bank”.
Last month, 71 members of Israel’s 120-seat parliament, including members of Netanyahu’s right-wing coalition, passed a motion calling on the government to annex the occupied West Bank.
The German-Israeli Society, which promotes closer ties between the two countries, condemned Merz’s move and pointed to a US$3.5 billion deal under which Germany had agreed to buy Israel’s Arrow-3 anti-ballistic missile shield.
The group said that “if Israel were to retaliate in arms deliveries to Germany, the future of German aerial defence looks bleak”.


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Israel-Gaza war

Germany suspends arms exports to Israel for use in Gaza

Palestinians check the devastation following an Israeli strike that hit Gaza City’s southern al-Zeitoun neighbourhood on Friday. Photo: AFP

Protesters in Berlin on Thursday demand the release of hostages in Gaza. Photo: Reuters

Humanitarian aid is dropped over the Gaza Strip from a German military transport plane. Photo: dpa

Israel approves plan to take control of Gaza City, escalating war

The sun sets on Thursday behind buildings that were destroyed during Israeli ground and air operations in the Gaza Strip. Photo: AP

Israeli soldiers along the border of the Gaza Strip in southern Israel. Photo: AP

Palestinians rush to collect humanitarian aid airdropped into Gaza City. Photo: AP

Tents on the Gaza seashore and surrounding areas. Photo: AP

Protesters call for an end to the war outside the Israeli prime minister’s office in Jerusalem on Thursday. Photo: AP

UN Security Council discusses starvation of Israeli hostages, Gaza Palestinians

Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar holds up an image of Israeli captive Evyatar David. Photo: AFP

Ilay David, on screen, speaks about his brother Evyatar, who is being held hostage in Gaza. Photo: EPA

Palestinians call out for donated food at a community kitchen in Gaza City. Photo: AP

China calls for halt to ‘dangerous’ Gaza siege as Israel weighs full takeover

A Palestinian man inspects damage at the site of an overnight Israeli strike on a camp for displaced people in southern Gaza on Tuesday. China has joined calls against a possible complete Israeli takeover of Gaza. Photo: Reuters

China’s deputy permanent representative to the United Nations Geng Shuang speaks at UN headquarters in New York on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters

Palestinian women search the sand for legumes or rice in the central Gaza Strip after an aid air drop on Tuesday. Photo: AFP

Palestinian child Yazan Abu Foul, two, is cared for by his mother at a refugee camp west of Gaza City on July 19. Photo: EPA

Israel’s Netanyahu vows to ‘complete’ Gaza war amid mounting pressure

Palestinians rush to collect humanitarian aid airdropped by parachutes into Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip. Photo: AP

An Israeli army infantry fighting vehicle along Israel’s southern border with the Gaza Strip. Photo: AFP

Humanitarian aid packages airdropped over the Gaza Strip. Photo: Reuters

Demonstrators in Tel Aviv, Israel demand the immediate release of hostages. Photo: Reuters

Palestinian Salim Asfour, 85, who suffers from severe malnutrition. Photo: EPA

Ex-Israeli security officials urge Trump to pressure Netanyahu to end Gaza war

Internally displaced Palestinians, including children, hold pots as they gather to receive food from a charity kitchen, in Gaza City on Monday. Photo: EPA

President Donald Trump (right) listens as Israel’s Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks in the Oval Office in April. Photo: AP

Salim Asfour, 85, has lost over 40 kilograms of body weight due to malnutrition. Photo: EPA

A Palestinian girl gestures as she waits to receive food from a charity kitchen in Khan Younis on Monday. Photo: Reuters

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World

Middle East

Berlin’s move, a drastic change of course from a staunch ally, comes in response to Netanyahu’s plan to take control of Gaza City


Berlin’s move, a drastic change of course from a staunch ally, comes in response to Netanyahu’s plan to take control of Gaza City.


Germany suspends arms exports to Israel for use in Gaza

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Berlin’s move, a drastic change of course from a staunch ally, comes in response to Netanyahu’s plan to take control of Gaza City

Berlin’s move, a drastic change of course from a staunch ally, comes in response to Netanyahu’s plan to take control of Gaza City