Germany's Merkel joins calls for Gaza ceasefire as violence continues

European foreign ministers during a tour of a building that was hit by a rocket fired by Palestinian militants. /AFP/Gil COHEN-MAGEN

Germany's Chancellor Angela Merkel has agreed to support efforts to reach a ceasefire between Israel and Palestinian militants, after speaking to Palestine's President Mahmoud Abbas.

"Merkel and President Abbas agreed that the initiatives for a speedy ceasefire should be further supported," the German leader's spokesperson said in a statement.

Merkel also underlined Israel's right defend itself in the face of rocket attacks from the Gaza Strip, the statement read.

READ MORE

20 firms make half the world's plastic waste

Spain deploys military to border

Fluid mechanics helps orchestras fight COVID-19

Despite Germany backing a ceasefire and the U.S. calling for a de-escalation of the conflict, the war is still raging in Gaza and Israel. The latter threatened to increase airstrikes on the densely populated enclave after Hamas fired rockets.

Since the fighting began on May 10, health officials in Gaza said 232 Palestinians, including 65 children and 39 women, have been killed and more than 1,900 wounded in aerial bombardments. Israel says it has killed at least 160 combatants in Gaza.

Authorities put the death toll in Israel at 12, with hundreds of people treated for injuries in rocket attacks that have caused panic and sent people rushing into shelters.

Stuttering diplomatic efforts

Egypt has been mediating between the sides and an Egyptian security source said they had agreed in principle to a mutual halt in hostilities but details still needed to be worked out, reported Reuters.

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu scheduled a meeting of his security cabinet to discuss options on Thursday evening.

Rocket attacks on Israel stopped for eight hours on Thursday, the 11th day of hostilities, before resuming against communities near the Gaza border and the city of Beersheba.

Israel continued airstrikes in Hamas-run Gaza, saying it wanted to destroy the Islamist resistance movement's capabilities and deter it from a future confrontation after the current conflict. Although Netanyahu has not ruled about the possibility of "conquering" Hamas, suggesting a ground offensive is still being considered.

"We're fully prepared to expand the campaign to whatever degree necessary. We're turning the clock back on Hamas and it won't be able to recover," Israel's Defense Minister Benny Gantz said.

U.S. President Joe Biden on Wednesdayurged Netanyahu to seek "de-escalation," and a Hamas political official, Moussa Abu Marzouk, said he believed a ceasefire would be reached "within a day or two."

But asked on Israel's Kan public radio if a truce would begin on Friday, Intelligence Minister Eli Cohen answered, "No."

Qatar-based Al Jazeera television reported that UN Middle East peace envoy Tor Wennesland was meeting Hamas chief Ismail Haniyeh in Qatar. A diplomatic source said Wennesland was in the Gulf nation as part of intensified UN efforts to restore calm in Gaza and Israel.

Any ceasefire is unlikely to address the fundamental issues in the Israel-Palestine conflict.

An international peace process aimed at creating a Palestinian state free of Israeli occupation and guaranteeing Israel's security has been frozen since 2014.

Source(s): Reuters