“And I am sure that it will then come to the conclusions that my colleague Hoffmann has just mentioned,” Spahn added.
Israel and Hamas agreed to a U.S.-brokered peace deal this week after two years of bloodshed, including the killing of over 60,000 Palestinians.
Germany, traditionally one of Israel’s staunchest allies, has taken a markedly sharper tone about the Israeli military’s offensive in recent months, but Merz has stopped short of committing Berlin to supporting the EU’s proposed sanctions.
Those include partially suspending the EU–Israel Association Agreement and sanctioning two far-right ministers in Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government. But the measures could be altered or withdrawn as the situation in Gaza evolves, the European Commission hinted Monday, with the topic to be raised at the next meeting of EU foreign ministers on Oct. 20.
Hans von der Burchard contributed to this report.