German Chancellor urges ceasefire, humanitarian aid for Gaza

Berlin, July 27 German Chancellor Friedrich Merz held a phone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, expressing concern over the "catastrophic humanitarian situation in Gaza."

According to a statement from the German government, during the phone conversation, Merz urged an immediate ceasefire and called for urgently needed humanitarian aid to reach the starving civilians in Gaza swiftly, safely and at the required scale, Xinhua news agency reported.

Germany will decide on its efforts to improve the situation in the coming days, in consultation with its E3 partners (France and Britain), as well as the United States and Arab nations, the statement said.

On Thursday, French President Macron announced that France will move to recognise the state of Palestine in September, as the"urgent priority today is to end the war in Gaza and rescue the civilian population".

"We must finally build the State of Palestine, ensure its viability and enable it, by accepting its demilitarisation and fully recognising Israel, to contribute to the security of all in the Middle East," he wrote on social media.

While France would be the most significant European power to recognise a Palestinian state, several countries have announced plans to recognise statehood for the Palestinians since Israel launched a bombardment of Gaza nearly two years ago in response to the Hamas attacks.

Senior Palestinian Authority official Hussein al-Sheikh welcomed the move, saying it "reflects France's commitment to international law and its support for the Palestinian people's rights to self-determination and the establishment of our independent state".

Hamas hailed Macron's pledge as a "positive step in the right direction toward doing justice to our oppressed Palestinian people and supporting their legitimate right to self-determination".

"We call on all countries of the world – especially European nations and those that have not yet recognised the State of Palestine -- to follow France's lead," it added.

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