German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, left, shakes hands with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, during a news conference in Tel Aviv, Israel   [File: Maya Alleruzzo/Pool via Reuters]

Berlin, May 12 (RHC)-- German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has warned Israel against expanding its military operations to Rafah.  “We consider an offensive on Rafah … to be irresponsible,” Scholz said on Saturday at a talk show organised by the Redaktionsnetzwerk Deutschland (RND) media group in Potsdam just outside Berlin.

“We warn against this, and we do not believe that there is any concept that will ultimately lead to this happening without incredible human losses in terms of innocent civilians,” he said.

The German chancellor added that humanitarian aid must also be brought to Gaza, and there must be a perspective for peaceful coexistence in which two states can exist side by side.

Germany has long been a staunch supporter of Israel.  In 2023, about 30 percent of Israel’s military equipment purchases came from the country.  Berlin is second to the United States in its military and political support of the Zionist apartheid regime in Tel Aviv.

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