Germany’s Merz: Israel should calibrate military operations in Gaza to ensure hostages return alive

BERLIN — Germany wants to see the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza, including Germans, brought back alive and Israel should consider this in its military actions in the strip, Chancellor Friedrich Merz says.

Asked whether Germany would implement an arrest warrant by the International Criminal Court against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Merz says that in principle it should be possible for an Israeli premier to visit Germany.

How this could happen would be clarified when necessary, he says at the joint press conference with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in Berlin, adding that no bilateral visits by him or Netanyahu are currently planned.

Merz says future financial support for UNRWA, the United Nations’ agency for Palestinian refugees, is conditional on the organization being reformed.

Guterres, who is meeting Merz in Berlin, calls for a Gaza ceasefire and “unimpeded humanitarian access” to the Palestinian territory.

“In relation to Gaza, I reiterate my call for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages, unimpeded humanitarian access and an immediate cessation of hostilities allowing for an irreversible path towards a two-state solution,” Guterres says.