Gaza is apocalyptic, says group as Germany steps up arms deliveries to Israel

Arms deliveries to Israel have been a contentious issue in Germany for several months, and the government’s continued exports are likely to add further fuel to the controversy

 

By Michael Fischer, dpa I Thursday, Oct.24, 2024

 

GAZA, Palestine – The German aid organization Welthungerhilfe said in a statement on Thursday that the situation in the Gaza Strip resembles an “apocalypse” after more than a year of war, even as Germany has expanded arms delivery to Israel as it prosecutes its warfare in Palestine and Lebanon.

“Our experienced colleagues … have never seen such massive destruction and despair among people in any other crisis area in the world,” said the organization’s chairman Mathias Mogge.

“It’s an apocalyptic situation,” he added. The organization said that despite the hunger and hardship of civilians in the Gaza Strip, too little aid was reaching the territory.

It described people living in tent camps in the limited space between the sea and completely destroyed buildings, amid constant Israeli airstrikes, gunfire and drones circulating above.

The organization once again reiterated its condemnation of the attack by Hamas on Israel on October 7, 2023, in which militants massacred some 1,200 people and took 250 hostages.

Welthungerhilfe called for the release of all remaining hostages being held in Gaza.

The Hamas-controlled health authority puts the death toll in Gaza at more than 42,000 people. It does not distinguish between Hezbollah members and civilians in its count.

Meanwhile Germany is significantly expanding arms deliveries to Israel, Foreign Office figures showed on Thursday.

Since August, approvals for military equipment exports to Israel have totalled €94.05 million ($101.4 million).

The figure, seen by dpa, is more than double the €45.74 million in approvals reported last week by the Economy Ministry for the year up to October 13.

Arms deliveries to Israel have been a contentious issue in Germany for several months, and the government’s continued exports are likely to add further fuel to the controversy.

The latest figures were disclosed in response to an enquiry from the populist Sahra Wagenknecht Allicance (BSW) party, which opposes the transfers.

Last year, Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s coalition government approved shipments of equipment to Israel totalling €326.5 million, which included weapons valued at €20.1 million.

Most of these export permits were issued following the terrorist attacks on Israel by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on October 7, 2023.

However, export licenses were significantly reduced in early 2024.
Earlier parliamentary responses indicated that only €14.42 million in arms had been approved by August 21, with no exports issued from March.

Conservative opposition leader Friedrich Merz, who heads the centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU), accused the government of obstructing export applications from arms manufacturers, including for ammunition and tank spare parts.

The government, however, has consistently stated that there was no ban on arms exports.

During a Bundestag debate on the anniversary of the October 7 attack, Scholz said: “We have delivered weapons and we will deliver weapons.

The latest figures, while stemming from different ministries, indicate that Scholz’s commitment is being heeded, and suggest that about €50 million or possibly more in military equipment may have been approved in the last 11 days.

Deliveries cause further controversy in Germany

A survey published on Tuesday suggested that a majority of Germans oppose ongoing deliveries amid Israel’s offensives in Gaza and southern Lebanon.

The poll by the Forsa Institute showed that 60% of respondents reject ongoing arms exports to Israel, while 31% support them and 9% remain undecided.

In response to the survey, the Palestinian Authority’s diplomatic representative to Germany, Laith Arafeh, said on X: “The majority of Germans oppose arms deliveries to Israel for a good reason: Weapons only deliver death and destruction.”

On Thursday, the BSW lawmaker whose enquiry led to the release of the figures said the exports were “irresponsible.”

“By providing arms aid to Israel, the [coalition] government is aiding and abetting war crimes in Gaza and Lebanon instead of honouring the majority of the German population’s wish for an arms embargo,” Sevim Dağdelen said.

Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock defended the government’s exports, arguing that the deliveries are not “a contradiction, but two sides of the same coin: the right to self-defence in accordance with international humanitarian law.”
Responding to the new figures while in Paris for an international aid conference for Lebanon, Baerbock said that a distinction should be made between weapons and defence equipment.