BERLIN

Germany on Monday once again called on Israel to allow more humanitarian aid into the Gaza Strip amid a sharp rise in civilian casualties.

“With the renewed escalation in the Gaza Strip, we are faced with a situation that we view with great concern, and the number of civilian casualties is simply too high. This simply cannot be allowed to continue,” deputy government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann told journalists in Berlin.

“More humanitarian aid must be delivered to Gaza, and the ceasefire must be restored,” she added.

The Israeli army launched a surprise aerial campaign on the Gaza Strip on March 18, killing over 920 people, injuring more than 2,000 others, and shattering the ceasefire and prisoner exchange agreement.

Israel’s continued closure of Gaza’s border crossings is pushing the Palestinian enclave to an “unprecedented humanitarian disaster," local authorities warned last week.

Under the terms of the ceasefire, Israel had agreed to allow 600 aid trucks and 50 fuel trucks into Gaza each day. However, since early March, the Israeli government has blocked the entry of 15,000 aid trucks and 1,250 fuel trucks, according to the media office of the Gaza government.

“A humanitarian catastrophe is looming in Gaza,” it warned.

These supplies are considered essential lifelines for Gaza’s population, who have been plunged into poverty by the ongoing Israeli assault, according to World Bank data.

Since October 2023, more than 50,350 Palestinians – mostly women and children – have been killed and over 114,400 injured in the Israeli military offensive.

The International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants last November for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.

Israel also faces a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its war on the enclave.