German Chancellor tells Netanyahu, “Urgent need to ease Gaza humanitarian crisis”

On Saturday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz reminded Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that there was an urgent need to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where Israel has pledged to destroy Hamas.

Following a phone chat between the two leaders, in a statement, Chancellor’s office stated, “Scholz underscored the urgent need to improve the humanitarian situation for residents in the Gaza Strip”.

“Humanitarian ceasefires could contribute to a significant improvement in care for the population”, the statement reads.

It went on to say that Netanyahu had provided details on Israel’s efforts to protect civilians in Gaza.

According to Israeli officials, Hamas took 239 captives on October 7 as it stormed across Gaza’s militarised border into southern Israel, killing around 1,200 people.

In response, Israel launched airstrikes and ground attacks in the Gaza Strip, killing 12,000 Palestinians, according to the Palestinian territory’s Hamas government.

Israel has refused to comply with international requests for a ceasefire until all hostages are freed.

Scholz, one of the first Western leaders to visit Israel in the aftermath of the October 7 attacks, assured Netanyahu of Germany’s complete solidarity with the people of Israel and assured his country’s unfailing support.

Scholz made the remarks after meeting with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Berlin on Friday, who has termed Israel’s attack on Gaza a violation of human rights and a terror state.

Also read: Tentative agreement between Israel and Hamas to halt war and release dozens of hostages