German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has called for international efforts to seek another ceasefire between Israel and Hamas after fighting resumed on Friday morning.
“In these minutes we must do everything we can to ensure that the humanitarian ceasefire continues,” she said in Berlin.
This was necessary “both for the remaining hostages, who have been hoping for release while in dark tunnels for weeks, and for the suffering people in Gaza, who urgently need more humanitarian aid.”
“This suffering must finally end for everyone,” the minister said, noting the toll the war had taken on Israelis since the October 7 Hamas attacks.
Israel will never be able to live in security if terrorism is not stopped, she said. But, Baerbock continued, there could only be security for Israel if the Palestinians also had prospects for the future.
Without explicitly naming Arab countries, she added: “To achieve this, all those who see the suffering on both sides and want to end it for everyone must work towards ensuring that Hamas no longer poses an existential threat to Israel.”
“Hamas must lay down its weapons,” she continued. Only then could a potential horizon open up for a two-state solution, “as unrealistic as that may seem this morning.”
Credit: dpa.
