Germany warns Israel against questioning Palestinian right to exist in Gaza

By Oliver Towfigh Nia

BERLIN (AA) – Germany on Monday warned Israel against questioning the right of Palestinians to exist in Gaza.

“We have said clearly that there must be no (Israeli) settlement of Gaza and no expulsion from Gaza, and that still applies,” Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock told journalists on the sidelines of the EU Foreign Affairs Ministers’ meeting in Brussels.

“And if, with regard to Gaza, the Palestinians' right to exist or international law is called into question, then this of course also has a consequence with regard to the European positioning,” she pointed out.

Baerbock criticized Israel again for not allowing enough humanitarian aid into war-stricken Gaza.

“The situation there is also dramatic. The suffering of the people, especially the children in Gaza, can hardly be put into words. There are no excuses for humanitarian aid not being able to enter Gaza,” she said while stressing again that “humanitarian aid is firmly anchored in international law.”

Germany has time and again called the Gaza aid situation “dramatic,” calling on Israel to improve humanitarian conditions in the besieged enclave since the war with Hamas broke out on Oct. 7, 2023.

Nearly 2 million people have been internally displaced in Gaza, according to the latest estimates from the UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA), and the population is suffering from widespread food, water, and medicine shortages.

In northern Gaza, a month-long renewed offensive and tightened siege have led to catastrophic conditions, with an estimated 100,000 people completely cut off from humanitarian aid.

Israel reduced the daily number of humanitarian aid trucks allowed into the Gaza Strip to just 30 in October, the UNRWA head was quoted as saying earlier this month.

“This is the lowest in a long time, bringing the assistance back to the level of the beginning of the war,” Philippe Lazzarini said on X.

Since the start of the war, Israel has maintained strict closures on Gaza’s crossings, limiting essential goods and imposing significant restrictions on humanitarian aid, creating severe living conditions.

Lazzarini emphasized that these 30 daily trucks “cannot meet the needs of over 2 million people, many of whom are starving, sick, and in desperate conditions.”

He noted that these trucks “represent only 6% of the supplies (commercial and humanitarian) allowed into Gaza before the war.”

Israel has continued a devastating offensive on Gaza since an attack last year by Hamas, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.

Over 43,900 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and some 103,898 others injured, according to local health authorities.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza.​​​​​​​