German foreign minister urges Israel to ‘act prudently,’ avoid escalation

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock says she made clear during talks in Israel with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and others that the Middle East must not be allowed to slide into a situation whose outcome is completely unpredictable.

“Everyone must now act prudently and responsibly,” Baerbock says before departing Israel for a Group of Seven meeting that she said would discuss Iran sanctions.

“A spiraling escalation would serve no one, not Israel’s security, not the many dozens of hostages still in the hands of Hamas, not the suffering population of Gaza, not the many people in Iran who are themselves suffering under the regime, and not the third countries in the region who simply want to live in peace,” she says.

Baerbock was visiting Israel for the seventh time since Hamas’s attack on Israel on October 7 to aid in efforts to de-escalate tensions since Iran’s weekend attack on Israel.