By Oliver Towfigh Nia
BERLIN (AA) - Germany on Monday lamented the high death toll in Gaza amid intensified Israeli military attacks.
“We see that the number of female civilians and male civilians being killed has been very high, especially in the last few weeks. The humanitarian situation in northern Gaza is desperate. It is unbearable in the entire Gaza Strip," Foreign Ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer told media in Berlin.
Berlin calls on Israel “to comply with its obligations under international law and also to follow the decisions of the ICJ (International Court of Justice) and allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza,” he added.
Fischer expressed his country’s “utmost concern” over the dramatic drop in humanitarian aid to Gaza.
The Israeli army has continued a deadly onslaught in northern Gaza since Oct. 5 to reportedly prevent the Palestinian resistance group Hamas from regrouping amid a siege on the area. Palestinians, however, accuse Israel of seeking to occupy the area and forcibly displace its residents.
"The occupation army used starvation as a weapon against civilians, prevented 3,800 aid trucks from going into northern Gaza, and deliberately starved nearly 400,000 people there, including more than 100,000 children,” the Gaza-based Government Media Office said.
“It also destroyed dozens of displacement and shelter centers that house tens of thousands of displaced people who fled their homes in search of safety and security," it added.
The media office appealed to the international community and UN agencies to assume their responsibilities and pressure Israel “to stop the brutal crimes being committed against civilians in Gaza.”
Israel has continued a devastating offensive on Gaza since an attack last October by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas, despite a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire.
Nearly 43,400 people have since been killed, mostly women and children, and over 102,200 others injured, according to local health authorities.
The Israeli onslaught has displaced almost the entire population of the territory amid an ongoing blockade that has led to severe shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.
Israel also faces a genocide case at the ICJ for its actions in Gaza.