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Germany’s Scholz tells Netanyahu of ‘urgent need’ to ease Gaza humanitarian crisis

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday there was an "urgent need" to ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where Israeli forces have vowed to destroy Hamas.

Published: 19 November 2023 10:54 CET

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaking at the Bundestag in Berlin

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaking at the Bundestag in Berlin on November 15, 2023. Scholz underlined the "urgent need" to ease the humanitarian crisis in Gaza in a call with Israeli PM Netanyahu on Saturday. (Photo by Odd ANDERSEN / AFP)

Scholz “underscored the urgent need to improve the humanitarian situation for residents in the Gaza Strip,” his office said in a statement after a call between the two leaders.

“Humanitarian ceasefires could contribute to a significant improvement in care for the population,” the statement said.

It added that Netanyahu had “given details on Israel’s efforts to protect civilians in the Gaza Strip”.

READ ALSO: Could Germany strip citizenship rights from foreigners over anti-Semitism?

Hamas militants seized 239 hostages on October 7 when they surged across Gaza’s militarised border into southern Israel to kill around 1,200 people, mostly civilians, according to Israeli officials.

In response, Israel’s air strikes and ground attacks in the Gaza Strip that have killed 12,000 people, according to the Palestinian territory’s Hamas government.

Israel has refused to heed international calls for a ceasefire before all hostages are released.

READ ALSO: Pro-Palestinian demonstrators rally across Europe

Scholz, who was one of the first western leaders to visit Israel after the October 7 attacks, assured Netanyahu of “Germany’s complete solidarity with the people of Israel” and assured his country’s “unfailing support”.

The comments came after Scholz met in Berlin on Friday with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has slammed Israel’s assault on Gaza as a violation of human rights and called Israel a “terror state”.

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German president decries 'violence' in politics after attacks

“We must never get used to violence in the battle of political opinions,” Steinmeier said at an event to mark the 75th anniversary of the German constitution.

The basic law, promulgated in 1949, was a response to Germany’s experience with political violence during World War II, Steinmeier said.

“No one knew better than the mothers and fathers of the constitution how violence undermines a democracy and tears down its foundations,” Steinmeier said.

READ ALSO: ‘Grundgesetz’ – what does Germany’s Basic Law really mean?

The threat of political violence had again reared its head in Germany, the president said.

“We have received news of physical attacks on elected officials and politically active people almost every day,” he said.

“I am deeply concerned about the coarsening of political life in our country.”

READ ALSO: How politically motivated crimes are rising in Germany

Earlier this month, police arrested a man on suspicion of hitting a former mayor of Berlin in the head during a visit to a public library.

Franziska Giffey, who is now the Berlin state economy minister and a member of Scholz’s Social Democratic Party (SPD), was treated in hospital for light injuries.

Giffey’s assault came just days after a European member of parliament, also from the SPD, had to be hospitalised after four people attacked him while he was out canvassing.

READ ALSO: Why are German politicians facing increasing attacks?

Senior members of the government have also been confronted by angry mobs in recent months, with Economy Minister Robert Habeck blocked from leaving a ferry by a group of protesters.

In his speech, Steinmeier also recalled the politically motivated murder of the conservative politician Walter Luebcke by neo-Nazis in 2019.

“His death is a reminder of how hate can turn into violence,” Steinmeier said.

This week also saw proceedings open against the alleged ringleaders of a group who are said to have planned to storm the German parliament and overthrow the government.

The group of so-called Reichsbuerger, who deny the legitimacy of the modern German republic, allegedly planned to take MPs hostage and had compiled “lists of enemies” to be eliminated, according to prosecutors.

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