German Chancellor Friedrich Merz held his first phone conversation with a foreign leader since assuming office on May 6 with his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, on Thursday. The two men discussed the war in Gaza and the close ties between their two nations.
In the readout of the call issued by Berlin on Friday, Merz expressed his country’s commitment to the existence and security of Israel, prioritized as a core principle of the German state 80 years after World War II.
The chancellor reiterated Berlin’s condemnation “in the strongest terms” of the Hamas-led “brutal terror attack” against the Jewish state on Oct. 7, 2023.
He went on to convey his hope that negotiations will result in the release of the remaining hostages kept in the Gaza Strip and a subsequent ceasefire.
The “humanitarian crisis” in Gaza also came up in the conversation, the readout noted.
Israel has imposed a blockade on the Palestinian enclave since the expiration of a ceasefire on March 18, with claims in the international community that the Gazans are lacking food and other essential supplies.
Jerusalem on the other hand denies there is a humanitarian crisis in Gaza, saying that sufficient supplies remain in the enclave and that a release of the hostages would lift the blockade.
The “situation in Syria” was also discussed between the two leaders, though the readout did not disclose further details.
Meanwhile, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul is slated to visit Israel on Sunday, and Israeli President Isaac Herzog is scheduled to travel to Berlin on Monday to commemorate the 60th anniversary of relations between the two states.
German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier is expected to make a reciprocal visit to Jerusalem shortly afterward.
Herzog will depart for Berlin on Sunday night, May 11, at Steinmeier’s invitation. During his time in Germany, the Israeli head of state is scheduled to meet with Steinmeier and other senior officials. He will also attend a state event at Bellevue Palace, Steinmeier’s official residence.
Steinmeier will accompany Herzog to the Track 17 Memorial at the Grunewald train station in Berlin—one of the sites from which thousands of Jews were deported to concentration camps during the Holocaust.
On Thursday, Herzog commemorated the 80th anniversary of the Allied victory over Nazi Germany, paying tribute to those who fought in World War II and drawing a connection between past and present struggles for freedom.
“Today and tomorrow, in Israel and around the world, we mark 80 years since the Allied victory over Nazism in World War II,” Herzog said in a statement. “We commemorate the victory of good over evil.”
In his remarks, Herzog highlighted the contributions of the Red Army, the U.S. and British militaries, and the estimated 1.5 million Jewish soldiers who served during the war, including 250,000 who were killed in action.
He also reflected on the legacy of his father, Chaim Herzog, who served in the British Army and was among the first to witness the horrors of the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp. Chaim Herzog later became Israel’s sixth president, serving from 1983 to 1993.
