In a statement, Merz noted that the release of Israeli prisoners and a ceasefire "remain Germany's priorities at this time," but he also expressed deep concern about the suffering of civilians in Gaza.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul confirmed in an interview with German radio station Deutschlandfunk on Sunday that the Israeli blockade of the Gaza Strip is causing "famine, suffering, and death," noting that Germany has demanded that Israel make radical changes to the mechanism for delivering humanitarian aid to the Strip.
Early Friday morning, Netanyahu's office issued a statement saying that the Israeli occupation army was preparing to occupy the remaining areas of Gaza City. The statement claimed that the cabinet had overwhelmingly approved five principles for ending the war, including "disarming Hamas, returning all prisoners, living and dead, demilitarizing the Strip, establishing security control over it, and establishing an alternative civil administration independent of Hamas and the Palestinian Authority."
During a cabinet meeting on Thursday evening, Netanyahu presented a "gradual" plan to reoccupy the Gaza Strip, despite opposition from the Israeli military establishment, which warned of the risks to the lives of prisoners and soldiers, according to Hebrew media.
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Hebrew media: Israel evades responsibility for occupying Gaza by using the term "control"
According to the sources, the plan calls for the Israeli occupation army to begin moving into areas it has not previously entered, with the aim of occupying them in the central Gaza Strip and Gaza City. According to the proposal, the plan would begin by displacing Palestinians from Gaza City to the south, followed by encircling the city, and then carrying out additional incursions into population centers.
Since beginning its genocide on October 7, 2023, Israel has been simultaneously committing a starvation crime against the Palestinians of Gaza. On March 2, it tightened its measures by closing all crossings to humanitarian, relief, and medical aid, causing famine to spread and reaching "catastrophic" levels.
The US-backed genocide left more than 210,000 Palestinians dead or wounded, most of them children and women, and more than 9,000 missing, in addition to hundreds of thousands of displaced persons and a famine that claimed the lives of many.
