By Oliver Towfigh Nia
BERLIN (AA) - German Chancellor Olaf Scholz stressed the importance of protecting civilian lives in Gaza during a phone call on Wednesday with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
“The Chancellor renewed Germany's unwavering solidarity with Israel. For his part, he underlined the importance of protecting civilians and providing humanitarian care to the population in the Gaza Strip,” Government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit said in a press statement.
This came after Israel's deadly bombing of the Jabalia refugee camp in the Gaza Strip reportedly left hundreds dead and injured.
Netanyahu informed the chancellor about the current situation in Israel following the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas and about the further action of the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip, Hebestreit said.
Scholz welcomed the fact that injured people were now being brought to Egypt for treatment via the Rafah border crossing for the first time since the start of the Gaza conflict, according to Hebestreit.
Earlier in the day, hundreds of foreigners and Palestinians with a second passport were able to leave the coastal strip otherwise sealed off by Israel via the Rafah crossing towards Egypt.
Among them, the German Foreign Ministry, said were also German citizens who were employees of international aid organizations.
They were met at the Rafah border crossing by a team from the Cairo-based German Embassy, the ministry said on X.