Daily 'thoughts and prayers' from Merz
Germany says it is ready to ramp up pressure on Israel over Gaza aid
Berlin is willing to take steps to press Israel to alleviate the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, according to a government spokesman who reviewed a recent phone call between Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Israeli PM Netanyahu.
“The chancellor was very clear in the phone conversation with the Israeli prime minister … that the federal government is prepared to increase the pressure if progress is not made,” the spokesperson said, without providing details.
“In principle, we are prepared to take further steps, which is also the purpose of this afternoon’s security meeting,” he said, referring to a meeting of the German security cabinet.
Yesterday, Merz called on Netanyahu “to do everything in his power to achieve an immediate ceasefire. He urged him to provide the starving civilian population in Gaza with urgently needed humanitarian aid now”.
“This aid must reach the civilian population quickly, safely, and in the required quantities,” said a German government statement.
Germany’s staunch backing for Israel has come under increased criticism in recent days as the Israeli-induced starvation crisis deepens in Gaza.
A boy holds a can of chickpeas from an aid package dropped from a plane in az-Zawayda, central Gaza
Btw the ICJ ruled over a year ago, confirming that the Israeli occupation of the Westbank is illegal. Still no action.
Israeli forces bulldoze Palestinian farmland, olive trees, near Jenin
Israeli forces have destroyed farmland and olive trees in the Palestinian locale of Khirbet Masoud, near Jenin in the occupied West Bank, according to the Wafa news agency.
The forces bulldozed property and erected signposts as part of an effort to expand a settlement outpost there, said Wafa, citing the village council head of the nearby town of Zababdeh.
So far in 2025, Israeli forces have demolished at least 1,039 Palestinian-owned structures in the occupied West Bank, according to data from the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
