‘Permit humanitarian aid to reach the people’: Germany tells Israel
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz called on the Israeli government for an immediate end to the relentless bombing of Gaza and unimpeded entry of humanitarian aid.
“I want to repeat that here: the Israeli government must cease its intense military operations, allow for a ceasefire and, most importantly, permit humanitarian aid to reach the people,” said Merz.
“In Germany, I was among the first to clearly state that the conditions in Gaza had become unacceptable.”
More than 59,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israel’s war on Gaza since October 2023, according to the Health Ministry. The bombing and blockade has destroyed the enclave and led to deaths from starvation.
‘Nobody does a thing’ as Israel starves 2 million people in Gaza: Oxfam
Bushra Khalidi, policy lead in the occupied Palestinian territory at UK charity Oxfam, has denounced governments around the world for failing to stop Israel’s starvation policy in war-battered Gaza.
She condemned the takeover of aid distribution by the Israel-US military contractor group GHF from UN-led agencies, which has “turned food into a deadly trap” in the Strip.
“This is not a humanitarian failure, this is a deliberate policy. There are massacres every single day and they don’t address any needs that Palestinians in Gaza need right now,” Khalidi told Al Jazeera.
The international community needs to act immediately to halt Israel’s war and ramp up the entry of vast amounts of humanitarian relief, she said.
“A civilian population of two million people are dying slowly before the world’s eyes and nobody does a thing … States and governments – stop waiting. There’s no time left. If you are a government that claims to follow human rights, you need to act now. We are begging you.”
