Germany, Britain, France call on Israel to halt Gaza City offensive

BERLIN (AFP): Germany, Britain and France on Friday called for an “immediate” halt to Israel’s military offensive in Gaza City and condemned Israel’s strike in Qatar this week.

The foreign ministers of the three European powers said in a joint statement that “the focus must remain on reaching a permanent ceasefire, the release of all remaining hostages and flooding Gaza with aid to stop the famine.”

“We urgently call for an immediate halt to Israeli military operations in Gaza City, which are causing mass civilian displacement, civilian casualties and destruction of essential infrastructure,” they added.

“We call for the UN and humanitarian NGOs to be able to work safely and at scale across the entire Strip, including the North,” they said.

The statement said Israel’s strike Tuesday that targeted senior Hamas officials based on Doha, “violate Qatar’s sovereignty and risk further escalation in the region.”

The ministers said Qatar was playing a “vital role” in seeking to mediate between Israel and Hamas, which unleashed the war with its October 7, 2023 attacks.

US President Donald Trump will meet Qatar’s prime minister on Friday, the White House announced.

The United States backed a UN Security Council resolution on Friday that condemned the strikes in Qatar, without naming Israel. The UN General Assembly voted meanwhile to back a resolution on a two-state solution between Israel and the Palestinians, a vote immediately denounced as “disgraceful” by Israel.