German President discusses Gaza war with Netanyahu

German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier discussed the situation in the Gaza war with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during his two-day visit to Israel on Tuesday.

Immediately before the meeting, Netanyahu had announced a new offensive to dismantle the Palestinian Islamist organization Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Steinmeier said before the conversation that they would talk about the conduct of the war and its consequences, as well as the new announcements.

Steinmeier defends meeting with Netanyahu

"I very much hope that we will receive explanations, including explanations of what is intended in the medium and long term," the German president said.

Steinmeier also rejected the demand from the human rights organization Amnesty International not to meet Netanyahu. "I find that the demand is very simplistic," he said. "It would also be the easiest thing for politicians to avoid difficult conversations. That has never been my stance. And it is especially not my stance in relation to Israel."

Amnesty had previously called on the German president to refrain from meeting Netanyahu, who is being sought under an international arrest warrant issued by the International Criminal Court over accusations of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Gaza.

Military honours, meetings between presidents

Steinmeier arrived at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv at midday, where he was greeted with military honours by Israeli President Isaac Herzog.

Herzog had been in Berlin on Monday, and Steinmeier had flown on to Israel on Tuesday morning.

The reciprocal visit honours the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two states 60 years ago.

Diplomatic ties were formally established on May 12, 1965, following an agreement between Germany's then-chancellor Ludwig Erhard and Israeli prime minister Levi Eshkol.

The move came after a gradual rapprochement between the two nations whose relationship had been deeply scarred by the atrocities carried out during the Holocaust, during which Nazi Germany murdered some 6 million Jews.

In the following decades, Germany and Israel have built a close network of political, economic, military, scientific and cultural cooperation.

But the anniversary was overshadowed by the ongoing Gaza war, with Steinmeier appealing to Herzog in Berlin to lift the blockade preventing humanitarian aid from reaching the civilian population in the coastal area and adhere to international law.

"Israel's enemies do not abide by the rules, but we must," Steinmeier said in his speech at a state banquet in the German capital on Monday evening. At the same time, he noted Israel's right to self-defence.

In Jerusalem, the two heads of states visited the National Library of Israel.

Visit to Kibbutz Be'eri to conclude the trip

On Wednesday, Steinmeier plans to visit Kibbutz Be'eri, which is located directly on the border with the Gaza Strip. Hamas had almost completely destroyed it during its attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. Steinmeier visited the kibbutz with Herzog a few weeks after the attack.