The German foreign minister called the situation in Gaza “beyond imagination” and said Israel needs to show it is not pursuing a policy of expulsion and annexation. Meanwhile, a US special envoy prepares to visit Gaza.
Slovenia halts arms trade with Israel over Gaza, criticizes EU hesitancy
Slovenia said Thursday it would halt all weapons trade with Israel over the war in Gaza, expressing its frustration with the European Union as the bloc continued to drag its feet over such a move.
“Slovenia is the first European country to ban the import, export and transit of weapons to and from Israel,” the government said in a statement.
The government statement also said it was acting independently because the EU was “unable to adopt concrete measures” as it had requested.
Germany has ‘responsibility to prevent’ isolation of Israel, German foreign minister says
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said Thursday that Israel was in danger of becoming isolated, and Berlin was trying to prevent that from happening.
“Israel must always find friends, partners and supporters in the international community,” he said in Jerusalem. “And that is currently in danger in this situation. If there is one country that has a responsibility to prevent this, then in my view it is Germany.”
Wadephul also called the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip “beyond imagination” and said Israel needed to show it was not enacting a policy of “expulsion” and “annexation” in the Palestinian territory.
He also said Israel had a responsibility to allow humanitarian and medical aid into Gaza “quickly, safely and sufficiently to avert mass deaths.”
Wadephul’s comments came after arriving in Israel as part of a two-day trip that will also see him visit the Israeli-occupied West Bank.
White House: Huckabee, Witkoff to visit Gaza
US Ambassador to Israel Mike Huckabee and Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff will inspect an aid distribution center in Gaza on Friday, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
“Tomorrow, special envoy Witkoff and Ambassador Huckabee will be traveling into Gaza to inspect the current distribution sites and secure a plan to deliver more food, and meet with local Gazans to hear firsthand about this dire situation on the ground,” she told reporters in a Thursday briefing.
While international politicians often travel to Israel and the occupied West Bank, trips to Gaza are far less frequent. The visit comes after the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry said 111 Palestinians had died in the territory over the past 24 hours, including 91 people who were seeking aid.
Israel says it has struck Hezbollah infrastructure in Lebanon
Israel said Thursday it had conducted strikes in Lebanon on key Hezbollah infrastructure, where the militant group manufactured and stored missiles.
Israeli Defense Minister Israel Katz said targets included “Hezbollah’s biggest precision missile manufacturing site,” and the military said it struck “infrastructure that was used for producing and storing strategic weapons” in the Bekaa Valley in the east of the country, and the south.
“Any attempt by the terrorist organization to recover, reestablish or threaten will be met with relentless intensity,” Katz added.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency also reported strikes in the Bekaa Valley and the south of the country.
Both Katz and the Israeli military said Hezbollah was trying to rebuild its military infrastructure and demanded that the Lebanese army move to disarm the militant group.
Earlier on Thursday, Lebanese President Joseph Aoun said that his country was determined to disarm Iran-backed Hezbollah.
US, allies claim Iran trying to ‘kill, kidnap, and harass people in Europe, North America’
The United States and more than a dozen of its allies on Thursday said Iran has been trying to murder and kidnap dissidents, journalists and officials in Western countries.
“We are united in our opposition to the attempts of Iranian intelligence services to kill, kidnap, and harass people in Europe and North America in clear violation of our sovereignty,” the governments of Albania, Austria, Belgium, Canada, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden, the UK and the US said in a statement.
The countries said such activities were being carried out in collaboration with international criminal networks.
London has said it has halted more than 20 Iranian-linked plots to kidnap or kill individuals in Britain, including UK nationals and others Iran views as threats since early 2022.
In October, the Reuters news agency reported that Iran was behind a wave of efforts to assassinate and abduct individuals across Europe and the United States.
In March, the UK government said it wanted the Iranian state to register all political influence activities, citing increasingly aggressive behavior by Iran’s intelligence services.
Source : https://www.dw.com/en/middle-east-israel-risks-isolation-german-fm-says/live-73477363
