Foreign Minister Baerbock on the humanitarian situation in Gaza

At no time in the past 12 months has so little help reached the Gaza Strip as is the case at the moment. A large proportion of the more than two million people there is suffering from acute malnutrition, living in unimaginable conditions. Thousands of children are sitting among the rubble without parents and in unbearable pain. In no other region in the world are so many children with amputations living in such a small area. Large parts of Gaza are completely in ruins. People lack the strength to flee any further and are crowding into the last remaining, by now hardly safe, zones.

Israel's right to self-defence is limited by international humanitarian law, which includes the stipulation that humanitarian access must be guaranteed at all times and must never be used as a method of warfare. Time and again, promises have been made and not kept. As a result of strong insistence by us and on the orders of the International Court of Justice, the Israeli Government wanted "to flood Gaza with humanitarian assistance" in spring. That has to happen, without any excuses. The Israeli Government must be held to this assurance - notwithstanding all the difficult considerations and dilemmas.

Before the onset of winter, the most urgent priority is for the hostages to be released at last and for the emergency supplies necessary for survival - food, water, medicines, hygiene articles, tents - to finally reach the people in Gaza. To this end, all border crossings to Gaza need to be opened for humanitarian assistance. This requires the full cooperation of all parties with the United Nations and the assistance organisations in order to establish reliable and safe routes for emergency supplies and medical evacuations. In the past few days, we have seen constructive initial signs in this direction. In many talks we have urgently called for a modification of the Israeli army's operations. The heavy fighting must finally stop and serious efforts made to bring about a ceasefire. For without a ceasefire, there will be no end to the dying, and the suffering will continue - the suffering of the more than 100 remaining hostages and their families. And likewise the suffering of the families in Gaza.