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German foreign minister heads to Middle East in Gaza truce push

Asia

By AFP | Sep 05, 2024

**Protesters rally with Palestinian flags and signs in Union Square against the conflict in Gaza and the occupied West Bank on September 2, 2024, in New York City.** [AFP]

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock on Wednesday set off for a diplomatic tour of the Middle East as efforts continue towards a deal between Israel and Hamas to end the Gaza war.

Pressure has mounted on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a deal to end the fighting, days after Israel's military recovered six killed hostages from a Gaza tunnel.

Baerbock said the "nightmare" of the conflict must end and called for all efforts needed "towards a humanitarian ceasefire that will lead to the release of the hostages and put an end to the deaths".

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A ceasefire plan proposed by US President Joe Biden in May "must now finally be adopted", Baerbock said.

The trip will be Baerbock's ninth to Israel and her 11th to the Middle East since the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel that triggered the war.

Baerbock set off first for Saudi Arabia, where she was due to meet Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al-Saud, ministry spokeswoman Kathrin Deschauer said.

The ministers will discuss "the dramatic situation in the region" and "the ongoing attacks by the radical Islamist Huthi militia from Yemen on international shipping", Deschauer said.

Baerbock will then head to Jordan and meet her counterpart Ayman Safadi to discuss "in particular the issue of coordinating humanitarian aid for the people in Gaza".

She will then travel to Israel and meet Foreign Minister Israel Katz before heading to the occupied West Bank, the site of recent heavy clashes.

There she will meet Palestinian Authority Prime Minister Mohammed Mustafa to discuss "how an imminent escalation of violence in the West Bank can be prevented".

"Nothing will be gained if a new, young generation becomes radicalised because they have to watch the destruction on their doorstep," Baerbock said.

"The Palestinians have a right to live in security and dignity."

The October 7 Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians and including hostages killed in captivity, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli official figures.

Israel's campaign against Hamas since October 7 has killed at least 40,861 people in Gaza, according to the territory's health ministry. The UN rights office says most of the dead are women and children.