Germany’s Foreign Office issued a travel warning for Israel, the Palestinian territories and Lebanon on Sunday amid expectations of an Israeli ground offensive into Gaza. A warning was already issued for the Gaza Strip.
Travel to Israel and the Palestinian territories was “strongly discouraged.”
The guidance comes after large-scale attacks carried out by the Hamas militant group, which is designated a terror group by Germany, the United States and other nations, in Israel last weekend. Around 1,300 Israelis, as well as other foreign nationals, were killed in the attacks.
The Israeli military has launched retaliatory missile strikes on the Gaza Strip killing more than 2,300 Palestinians over the course of the week.
A travel warning makes it easier for tourists to cancel trips they have already booked free of charge but it does not equate to a travel ban.
Evacuations from Israel
German airline Lufthansa halted special flights carrying German passengers from Israel on Saturday citing security concerns. Some 2,800 German nationals have been evacuated since Hamas launched the attacks on October 7.
The German Defense Ministry, together with the Foreign Office, announced on Sunday afternoon that 160 people have been brought to Germany in three Air Force planes in the past 24 hours. The ministries said there could be further evacuations from the conflict region if necessary.
Pro-Palestine demonstrations over the weekend
A number of pro-Palestine demonstrations took place across Germany on Friday and Saturday, in the cities of Düsseldorf, Braunschweig, Munich, Frankfurt, Berlin and Cologne.
No significant incidents were reported, although the protests in Munich, Berlin and Frankfurt were broken up by police.
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz announced a ban on all Hamas-related activities in Germany on Thursday, while some cities like Berlin and Munich have banned pro-Palestine demonstrations altogether out of concerns over antisemitism.
Friedrich Merz, Germany’s Christian Democratic Union parliamentary group leader, told German TV show Welt am Sonntag that he is calling on Muslim groups in Germany to distance themselves “without any ifs or buts” from the Hamas attacks in Israel.
He called remarks made earlier this week by Germany’s Central Council of Muslims in response to the Hamas attacks “absolutely unacceptable”.
In the statement referenced by Merz, the Council said: “We condemn the recent Hamas attacks on civilians and call for an immediate end to the violence. In order to avoid more civilian casualties, all sides must now immediately cease hostilities.”
Many have criticized the final sentence, calling it an example of “whataboutism” and charging the Council with relativizing the Hamas attacks.
Habeck: ‘We have not forgotten’
Germany’s vice chancellor Robert Habeck addressed the conflict in a speech directed at Israel on Friday.
“We stand by your side,” he said. “We have not forgotten.”
Habeck spoke about the first trip he took to Israel in the summer of 2022. He said that after talks with Israel’s then foreign minister, he was walking down the hall and saw a large painting of the Babyn Yar site of massacres in Kyiv, where Nazi Germany’s forces murdered over 30,000 people during World War II.
“They are the reason Israel was created as a state. As a place of refuge for Jews, as a state where they finally had a place, their place — in safety,” he said. “These acts, these places, they are the reason why we have a historic responsibility, the obligation imposed by our history, to protect Jewish life — in our country and around the world.”
Habeck said this is not the time to “relativize” or “compare” the acts of Israel’s military.
“Now is the time for a clear, unshakeable commitment: Israel’s security is part of Germany’s raison d’etat,” he said, adding that Israel has “every right to defend itself.”
He said Germany stands in full solidarity with Israel, adding that the attacks facilitated by Hamas weren’t conducted for the freedom of Palestinians, but “only for themselves.”
“It has nothing to do with the people in Gaza who are suffering, who need humanitarian aid,” he said. “This suffering is Hamas’ responsibility.”
He called recent demonstrations in Germany celebrating Hamas’ attacks “disgusting” and “shameful”, adding that there is “no place for antisemitism on Germany’s streets.”
Source: DW