Germany warns of worsening humanitarian situation in Gaza

By Oliver Towfigh Nia

BERLIN (AA) – Germany on Monday warned of a deteriorating humanitarian situation in the besieged Gaza Strip amid intensified Israeli air attacks.

“The humanitarian emergency threatens to worsen,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer told journalists in Berlin, urging Israel to allow necessary humanitarian aid, including fuel, into the Gaza Strip.

Pointing out that there are 1.8 million people or 80% of Gaza’s population based in the southern part of the enclave, Fischer said: “And that of course increases the risk that civilians will be harmed during military operations.”

It is important to Germany that Israel's actions take this into account and avoid civilian suffering, he added.

“And it is important that Israel adheres to international humanitarian law,” he reiterated.

He hoped that there is still the possibility of moving Palestinian civilians out of the danger zone in the Gaza Strip.

It is expected that Israel will not only ask civilians to leave the danger zone, "but that they will also actually be able to find safe accommodation elsewhere," Fischer emphasized.

UN aid agencies and the Red Cross have repeatedly warned of a "humanitarian disaster" engulfing the small Hamas-controlled enclave of 2.3 million people, with shortages of food, fuel, drinking water and medicines worsening.

More than 1.5 million people in the Gaza Strip are estimated to be internally displaced, including nearly 800,000 people who are staying in at least 154 UN shelters, according to the UN humanitarian office (OCHA).

The Israeli army resumed bombing the Gaza Strip early Friday after declaring an end to a week-long humanitarian pause.

Israel launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip following a cross-border attack by Palestinian group Hamas on Oct. 7.

The death toll from Israeli attacks on the Gaza Strip has surged to 15,899 since the start of the conflict on Oct. 7, the Health Ministry in the besieged Palestinian enclave announced on Monday.

The official Israeli death toll stands at 1,200.