Israeli foreign minister expected in Berlin, with Gaza on the agenda

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul plans to welcome his Israeli counterpart Gideon Saar to Berlin on Thursday, with the situation in the Gaza Strip causing concern in the government in Berlin.

The two foreign ministers are to pay a joint visit to Berlin’s Holocaust Memorial near the Brandenburg Gate and lay a wreath at the memorial for Europe’s murdered Jews.

The steles of the Holocaust Memorial recall the approximately 6 million Jews murdered during the Nazi dictatorship.

Wadephul met Saar during his first official visit to Israel on May 11.

During political talks later Thursday, the operations being conducted by the Israeli military and the catastrophic situation facing the civilian population in the Gaza Strip are likely to be discussed.

Wadephul pledged further German arms deliveries to Israel during an address to parliament on Wednesday. The assistance was necessary given the terrorism Israel faced from Hamas, the Iran-backed Houthi militia in Yemen and the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon, he said.

Wadephul had caused concern within the German government for earlier comments to a newspaper in which he made arms deliveries to Israel dependent on a legal evaluation of Israel’s military action in the Gaza Strip.