During his visit to Israel, Foreign Minister Wadephul announced that Germany was expanding its support for the people of the Gaza Strip. He also responded to allegations that Hamas could profit from the aid.
Germany is further expanding its aid for the people in the Gaza Strip. Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul (CDU) announced an additional five million euros for the UN World Food Programme (WFP) during his visit to Israel."This will support, among other things, bakeries and soup kitchens to provide the people of Gaza with bread and hot meals in the medium term," he said.
The German government is also funding a Malteser field hospital, which will provide urgently needed basic healthcare in Gaza City.
Wadephul called on the Israeli government to quickly return to close cooperation with the United Nations and its agencies in providing humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip. Their staff have"clearly demonstrated their ability to provide adequate supplies to all the people of Gaza, if allowed to do so and if they can work in safety."
German aid flights for Gaza Strip begin
Meanwhile, the German Armed Forces (Bundeswehr) have begun their relief effort in the Gaza Strip. German transport aircraft have dropped the first pallets of food and medical supplies, the Defense Ministry announced on Friday.
The Foreign Minister did not rule out the possibility that some of the aid could be diverted to the terrorist group Hamas. However, he added,"The humanitarian catastrophe in the Gaza Strip is now so great that it is not justified to erect further obstacles here." Furthermore, the best way to prevent abuse is to allow as much food and aid into the Gaza Strip as possible.
According to the Federal Foreign Office, German humanitarian aid for the Palestinian Territories has amounted to more than 330 million euros since the beginning of the Gaza war in October 2023. More than 95 percent of this amount has been used for the population in the Gaza Strip. The aid was most recently increased by up to almost 31 million euros in May.
dpa/jm/saha
