German Chancellor Olaf Scholz had a telephone conversation with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Sunday, during to which he noted that the German government "strongly condemns" threats from Iran, the Lebanese Shiite organization Hezbollah and other players against the Jewish state. Cabinet spokesman Wolfgang Büchner told reporters.
„The chancellor expressed serious concern about the danger of an escalation of regional conflict in the Middle East”, he noted. According to Scholz, “now more than ever it is important to stop the destructive spiral of acts of revenge, reduce tensions and make constructive efforts to de-escalate the situation”.
"In this regard, the chancellor reiterated that the time has come to finalize the agreement on the release of hostages and a ceasefire. From his point of view, many military objectives in the fight against Hamas have been achieved, the number of civilian casualties and the suffering of the people in the Gaza Strip is enormous. Ending the war in Gaza [according to the chancellor] would be a decisive step towards regional de-escalation”, noted Buchner.
Another round of escalation in the Middle East followed the death in Tehran of the head of the Politburo of the radical Palestinian movement Hamas, Ismail Haniya, and the liquidation in Beirut of one of the commanders of the military wing of the Shiite movement Hezbollah. Fouad Shokra. Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah blamed Israel for what happened and said they would not let it go unanswered.