German opposition party: Stop sending arms to Israel after killing of Gaza aid workers

BERLIN

The German government should no longer send arms to Israel in the wake of the killing of seven aid workers in Gaza, radical leftist opposition party The Left said on Wednesday.

“The shocking death of seven employees of an international aid organization due to Israeli shelling is not an isolated case. According to the UN, more than 180 aid workers have already been killed in this war, mostly Palestinians, to whom there has never been a reaction or apology from the Israeli government,” The Left party leader Martin Schirdewan and Gregor Gysi, the party’s foreign policy expert, said in a joint statement.

“The immense suffering of the civilian population in Gaza must end. It is not enough for the federal government to express its criticism of Israel's actions in verbal appeals. There must be an immediate stop to all arms deliveries to Israel,” they added.

Earlier in the day, Germany called on Israel on Wednesday to step up its efforts to protect aid workers in war-stricken Gaza.

“Humanitarian workers in Gaza risk their lives every day to help people in need. We clearly expect the Israeli government to adapt its operations so that civilians are better protected,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Sebastin Fischer told a press briefing in Berlin, adding that this “applies in particular” to humanitarian aid workers.

Since Oct. 7, when the current conflict began, more than 200 humanitarian aid workers have lost their lives in Gaza. The safety of humanitarian aid workers is always on the agenda of talks between German and Israeli officials, he added.

On Tuesday, Germany demanded a thorough investigation into Israel’s killing of seven aid workers who were delivering food to Palestinian civilians in the Gaza Strip.

“The Israeli government must investigate this terrible incident quickly and thoroughly,” Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock wrote on X, where she expressed deep sympathy and condolences to the families of the victims.

“Humanitarian workers must be able to carry out their important work safely – around the world as well as in Gaza. We are calling again on the Israeli government to assure functioning deconfliction measures. Incidents like this cannot be allowed to happen,” she added.

US-based charity World Central Kitchen confirmed earlier that seven of its humanitarian aid workers were killed in Monday's Israeli airstrikes in Gaza. They were nationals of Australia, Poland, the UK, and Palestine, as well as a US-Canada dual citizen.