Germany reiterates ‘urgent’ need for cease-fire in Gaza

BERLIN (AA) - Germany on Monday reaffirmed the “urgent” need for a cease-fire in war-ravaged Gaza following relentless deadly Israeli attacks over the weekend.

Speaking to the press in Berlin, deputy Foreign Ministry spokesman Christian Wagner expressed support for the cease-fire proposal by American President Joe Biden, calling it “very positive.”

“I think the events of the weekend have once again underlined how urgently we need this agreement, how urgently we need a cease-fire, how urgently we need the remaining hostages to be freed and more humanitarian aid in Gaza,” he said. ​​​​​​​

The death toll in Israel’s latest military assaults across the Gaza Strip has reportedly surged to 226 with more than 400 wounded, according to the Government Media Office in Gaza.

The Saturday's military’s attacks by air, land and sea on Nuseirat and Deir el-Balah in central Gaza were the worst since October, with doctors describing the scenes inside Al-Aqsa Hospital as a “complete bloodbath.”

Israel has continued its brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7 attack by the Palestinian group Hamas, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

More than 37,000 Palestinians have since been killed in Gaza, most of them women and children, and nearly 84,500 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Eight months into the Israeli war, vast tracts of Gaza lay in ruins amid a crippling blockade of food, clean water and medicine.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in the southern city of Rafah, where over a million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war before it was invaded on May 6.​​​​​​​