Germany and Israel mark 60 years of diplomatic relations

Sixty years after forging ties in the shadow of the Holocaust, Germany and Israel are marking a diplomatic milestone with mutual visits by their heads of state.

Israeli President Isaac Herzog is set to arrive in Berlin on Monday, followed by a return visit by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier to Israel on Tuesday and Wednesday. Both presidents will be accompanied by their wives, Michal Herzog and Elke Büdenbender.

Diplomatic ties were formally established on May 12, 1965, following an agreement between Germany's then-chancellor Ludwig Erhard and Israeli prime minister Levi Eshkol.

The move came after a gradual rapprochement between two nations whose relationship had been deeply scarred by the atrocities carried out during the Holocaust, during which Nazi Germany murdered some 6 million Jews.

In the following decades, Germany and Israel have built a close network of political, economic, military, scientific and cultural cooperation.

Herzog will be welcomed with military honours by Steinmeier at Bellevue Palace in Berlin on Monday morning. A press conference is scheduled following their talks.

Later, the two presidents will attend a gathering with German and Israeli youth and take part in a ceremony at the Platform 17 Memorial at the German capital's Grunewald train station, where thousands of Jews were deported during the Nazi era.

The anniversary comes at a time of strained relations. Germany has expressed concern over Israel's military operations in Gaza, which have resulted in high civilian casualties and a worsening humanitarian crisis. Israel, in turn, has voiced alarm over what it sees as rising anti-Semitism in Germany.