BERLIN

The German government is planning to support Israel in its war against Hamas by supplying lethal ammunition, local media has reported.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition government is considering supplying Israel with around 10,000 rounds of 120-millimeter precision ammunition, according to the Der Spiegel weekly.

After receiving the request from Tel Aviv in November, the relevant ministries have discussed the issue, and an agreement reached in principle to meet this request, the magazine said.

However, German defense companies were not in a position to deliver the requested ammunition in a short period of time, and the ministries have started on a plan to provide this ammunition from the German army’s own stocks, the report said.

Despite growing public pressure, the German government remains one of the strongest supporters of Israel’s military offensive in Gaza. Scholz has repeatedly said his country bears special responsibility for Israel due to its Nazi past.

Israel has launched a relentless military assault on Gaza after a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7, which Tel Aviv says killed around 1,200 people.

During Israel’s military campaign, at least 24,448 Palestinians have been killed and 61,504 others injured. The majority of the victims were children and women.

According to the UN, 85% of the population of Gaza is already internally displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water and medicine.