German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Monday that Israel’s recent strikes on Gaza are taking a humanitarian toll on civilians that can no longer be justified as a fight against the Hamas terror group.
“Harming the civilian population to such an extent, as has increasingly been the case in recent days, can no longer be justified as a fight against Hamas terrorism,” he told broadcaster WDR in a televised interview.
Merz also said he “no longer understands” the Israel Defense Forces’ objective in Gaza amid a stepped-up offensive.
“I no longer understand what the Israeli army is doing in the Gaza Strip, with what goal the civilian population is being impacted to such an extent,” he said.
Merz added he plans to hold a call with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu this week to tell him “to not overdo it,” though for “historical reasons,” Germany would always be more guarded in its criticism than some European partners.
But he added that “when limits are crossed, when international humanitarian law is being violated… then the German chancellor must speak out too.”
Merz said he wanted Germany to remain “Israel’s most important partner in Europe.”
“But the Israeli government must not do anything that its best friends are no longer willing to accept,” he said.
Germany has long been a strong supporter of Israel as it seeks to atone for the Holocaust.
However, the war against Hamas in Gaza has cast a shadow over relations, with Germany at pains to carefully calibrate its response to give support for Israel’s right to exist and defend itself, but also to advocate for the rights and protections of Palestinians under international law.
The Israeli military has stepped up its Gaza operations in recent days in what it has described as a renewed push to destroy Hamas. It has called for the evacuation of civilians from large swaths of the enclave, including the entire cities of Rafah and Khan Younis in the southern Strip.
Gaza’s health ministry said Sunday that at least 3,785 people had been killed in the territory since the latest ceasefire collapsed on March 18, taking the war’s overall toll to 53,939 — a figure that cannot be verified and does not differentiate between civilians and fighters.
The war broke out on October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led terrorists invaded Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and kidnapping 251. Terror groups in the Gaza Strip are still holding 58 hostages, including 57 of the 251 abducted on October 7.