Germany says Gazans urgently need more humanitarian aid

BERLIN

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has called on Israel to allow more humanitarian aid into northern Gaza, where people are facing starvation and critical levels of acute malnutrition.

Baerbock held a phone call with her Israeli counterpart Israel Katz to discuss the latest developments and the humanitarian situation in northern Gaza, German diplomatic sources said on Tuesday.

“The situation in northern Gaza is getting more desperate every day. The people there urgently need more humanitarian aid,” the ministry said in a short statement posted on social media, after the phone conversation between the ministers.

The German Foreign Ministry also reiterated Berlin’s expectation for progress in Gaza cease-fire talks following the death of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar in an Israeli military operation last week.

“Sinwar’s death opens the door to finally ending the terrible war in Gaza and freeing all hostages,” the ministry said, referring to the Israeli captives taken in the Hamas-led Oct. 7 attack.

The UN on Tuesday warned of the catastrophic humanitarian situation in northern Gaza, saying its staff cannot find food, water, medicine for the Palestinians trapped there.

UNRWA chief Philippe Lazzarini has called for an immediate cease-fire to bring humanitarian aid to the enclave, and to allow safe humanitarian passage for families wishing to leave there.

“In northern Gaza, people are just waiting to die,” Lazzarini said. “They feel deserted, hopeless, and alone. They live from one hour to the next, fearing death at every second.”

Since Israel began its military campaign against Hamas in Gaza last October, more than 42,600 Palestinians have been killed, and over 100,000 others wounded, most of them women and children.

Israel is currently facing a genocide case at the ICJ over its actions in Gaza, where millions of Palestinians remain displaced and face severe shortages of food, medical supplies, and other essentials.