Germany has announced it will be suspending arms exports to Israel following the nation’s plans to takeover Gaza City.
On Friday morning, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office released a statement saying that the country’s security cabinet had approved a plan to take control of Gaza City.
The escalation of the Israeli offensive in Gaza has been widely condemned by the international community, including by Sir Keir Starmer, who said this would only ‘bring more bloodshed.’
Now, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has announced his country will suspend its arms exports to Israel which could be used in the Gaza Strip.
Merz said on Friday that it was “increasingly difficult to understand” how the Israeli military escalation would help achieve legitimate aims.”
“The even harsher military action by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip, approved by the Israeli cabinet last night, makes it increasingly difficult for the German government to see how these goals will be achieved,” he said.
He added: “Under these circumstances, the German government will not authorise any exports of military equipment that could be used in the Gaza Strip until further notice.”
Merz said his government were deeply concerned about the suffering of civilians in Gaza, and that the Israeli government “bears even greater responsibility than before for providing for their needs” if it goes ahead with the planned offensive in Gaza City.
Germany has also called on Israel to “not to take any further steps toward annexing the West Bank,” Euronews reports.
Germany has historically been one of the largest arms suppliers to Israel. Between 2020-2024, the European nation was second only to the USA as Israel’s largest supplier of military imports, according to the Stockholm Peace Research Institute.