German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul on Thursday called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza, warning that the humanitarian situation remains "catastrophic" for more than 2 million Palestinian civilians.
Speaking at a press conference in Rome, after meeting a group of European foreign ministers, Wadephul said the new German government is pursuing an active foreign policy to de-escalate tensions, and revive diplomatic efforts in the Middle East conflict.
"I will depart from Rome for the region today, landing in Cairo this evening. From there, I'll visit Beirut, Amman, Damascus, and finally Jerusalem. This demonstrates how the new German government is pursuing an active foreign policy to end this conflict," he said.
Wadephul reiterated Germany's historic responsibility for Israel's security due to the country's Nazi past, blamed Hamas for the escalation of the ongoing conflict, but also underlined that the Israeli government must allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza, emphasizing the need to alleviate the suffering of the civilian population.
"No one, including Germany and myself, overlooks the catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza, and that is why it is worth every effort and every endeavor to achieve a ceasefire. Our statement today expresses this once again" he said, and reaffirmed Berlin's support for a two-state solution to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"We support the two-state solution. We are actively involved in helping to establish a Palestinian state. We are involved in the state-building process, but we believe that formal recognition should be the end of this process, not the beginning," he added.
