BERLIN

Germany called for "an urgent return to a ceasefire" agreement in Gaza on Friday amid stepped-up Israeli military attacks on the enclave.

“The German government urgently calls for a return to the ceasefire... We are working very hard for a ceasefire and, of course, for an improvement in the humanitarian situation, and we are also actively calling for humanitarian supplies to Gaza to be enabled again," Foreign Ministry's interim spokesperson Amelie Titel said at a press briefing in Berlin.

The German government is committed to ensuring that "all parties find a negotiated solution instead of militarily escalating the situation, and we naturally call on all parties to lift the blockade of humanitarian aid deliveries and to protect the civilian population. We very much hope that all parties will agree to a ceasefire and that the talks will continue," she committed.

The spokesperson’s comments are in stark contrast to her country’s latest decision in the UN Human Rights Council to vote against a resolution calling, among other things, for a ceasefire in Gaza, the release of Palestinian and Israeli prisoners, and the lifting of the Israel blockade in the occupied enclave. ​​​​​​​

Israel began a surprise aerial campaign on the Gaza Strip on March 18 and has killed more than 1,000 people and injured over 2,000 others since then, shattering a January ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement.

More than 50,500 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza in Israel's military onslaught since October 2023, most of them women and children.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.​​​​​​​

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.