BERLIN

Israel's military escalation in Gaza will not lead to peace in the enclave, Germany warned on Wednesday.

“The federal government has always made it clear that it rejects these military operations, which only lead to more deaths, injuries and displacement,” government spokesman Stefan Kornelius told a press briefing in Berlin.

“The federal government is therefore very dismayed by the fate of the civilian population and the humanitarian situation, and in contrast to other governments, we are increasingly less aware of how these military operations can effectively lead to a lasting peace,” he added.

Germany is facing international pressure to agree to EU sanctions against Israel over what the UN has said is a genocide in Gaza.

Asked about the proposed actions, Kornelius said his government “has not yet formed a final opinion” on the EU sanctions plans against Israel.

The Israeli army said it carried out more than 150 air and artillery strikes on Gaza City over the past two days, part of what it called an expanding ground offensive to occupy the enclave’s largest urban center.

The campaign in Gaza City comes weeks after Israel’s government approved a plan by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to reoccupy the entire Gaza Strip, starting with the densely populated city.

Since early August, Israeli forces have bombarded residential towers and apartment blocks, employing artillery, drone strikes and booby-trapped robots.
The Israeli army has killed almost 65,000 Palestinians, most of them women and children, in Gaza since October 2023. The relentless bombardment has rendered the enclave uninhabitable, and led to famine.