Israel must open border crossings to a lot more aid, says German minister

BERLIN

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Sunday that additional border gates should be opened urgently between Israel and Gaza to end the starvation in the region.

The Israeli government must open the border crossings to a lot more aid, Baerbock said on X ahead of her trip to Egypt.

She said only an immediate humanitarian cease-fire leading to a permanent cessation would keep hopes for peace alive and end suffering on all sides.

Underlining that they are working with international partners to open additional border gates, she said the Israeli army must comply with international humanitarian law.

Israel has waged a deadly military offensive on the Palestinian territory since a cross-border attack led by the Palestinian group Hamas in which some 1,200 Israelis were killed.

More than 32,200 Palestinians have since been killed and over 74,500 injured amid mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war has pushed 85% of Gaza’s population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60% of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.​​​​​​​

Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice. An interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

*Writing by Gozde Bayar