Nairobi (dpa) – Germany’s Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has urged Israel to comply with international humanitarian law in view of the humanitarian crisis in the Gaza Strip. She was “extremely concerned about the desperate plight of the people”, said Baerbock on the sidelines of her trip to East Africa in Nairobi, referring to the heavy fighting that was going on in the city of Khan Yunis in the south of the Gaza Strip. “There are rules regarding the right to self-defence, and international humanitarian law applies to the fight against terrorists, too. Israel must abide by these just like any other state in the world – even in a difficult situation where Hamas is breaking all the rules and using people as human shields.”
The Minister appealed to Israel to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza and adapt the way it was conducting its operations. Baerbock stressed that many hundreds of thousands of people had sought shelter in southern Gaza on Israel’s instructions – especially in UN facilities and at other sites. “They can’t just disappear into thin air.” For this reason, it was not enough just to call on them to leave these places, said Baerbock. A humanitarian ceasefire was needed, said the Minister, not least in order to allow the release of all the hostages.
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