Germany to Halt Arms Sales to Israel After Netanyahu Cabinet Approves Gaza City Takeover

Israel's approval of a plan to take over Gaza City—over the objections of human rights groups and the country's own military leaders—marked a red line for one of its closest allies on Friday, with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz announcing his government would halt sales of weapons that could be used by Israel in its occupation of the besieged enclave.

Merz said that "the even harsher military action by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip, approved by the Israeli cabinet last night, makes it increasingly difficult for the German government to see" how Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's stated goal of defeating Hamas and securing the release of hostages will be achieved.

Netanyahu's security ministers approved a proposal to direct the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) to fully take over Gaza City in the northern part of the enclave, which has already been badly damaged by the assault Israel began in October 2023 but has not been entirely razed like several other cities. Israeli hostages are believed to be in central Gaza.

The move is thought to be the first step in Netanyahu's plan to fully occupy Gaza, which United Nations human rights chief Volker Türk said Friday would "result in more massive forced displacement, more killing, more unbearable suffering, senseless destruction, and atrocity crimes" against Palestinian civilians.

Merz said Friday that "under these circumstances, the German government will not authorize any exports of military equipment that could be used in the Gaza Strip until further notice."

Germany has been a vehement defender of Israel's bombardment of Gaza, which it began in retaliation for a Hamas-led attack—and which has killed more than 61,000 people, the majority of whom have been women and children. Israeli soldiers have long said they’ve been directed to kill civilians, and Israel's assault has also included a near-total blockade on humanitarian aid which has starved to death nearly 200 Palestinians so far, about half of whom have been children.

"Under these circumstances, the German government will not authorize any exports of military equipment that could be used in the Gaza Strip until further notice."

In the first 19 months of the war, Germany was one of the biggest international suppliers of weapons to the IDF, issuing arms export licenses worth 485 million euros ($564 million). The country has provided firearms, ammunition, weapons components, electronic equipment, and armored vehicles, according to Merz’ government.

Germany has not followed the lead of France, the United Kingdom, and Canada, which have recently signaled they would join the vast majority of U.N. member states in recognizing Palestinian statehood, and it opposed the suspension of the European Union-Israel Association Agreement last month.

Germany's center-left Social Democratic party has been calling on Merz to halt arms sales for months as Israel has blocked nearly all humanitarian aid and escalated attacks, including a ground offensive, following a brief cease-fire. The Integrated Food Security Phase Classification, a U.N.-backed monitor of worldwide hunger, said last month that famine is unfolding across Gaza due to the blockade.

Social Democratic Vice Chancellor Lars Klingbeil said Merz' decision was "just."

"The humanitarian suffering in Gaza is unbearable," said Klingbeil.

The German public has also expressed plummeting support for their government's complicity in Israel's bombardment of Gaza, with 66% of Germans saying Merz should "exert greater influence over Israel to change its actions in Gaza" in a poll published this week by the country's public broadcaster.

German citizens' growing disapproval of Israel's attack on Gaza has matched that of the public in the United Kingdom, which has also supplied military aid to Israel since October 2023, mostly in the form of parts of F-35 fighter jets.

A poll last month by YouGov showed Britons increasingly support and sympathize with Palestinians and oppose the Israeli government's actions in Gaza.

Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Friday denounced the Israeli plan to take over Gaza City, calling for "a cease-fire, a surge in humanitarian aid, the release of all hostages by Hamas, and a negotiated solution."

But Starmer made no mention of ending all arms exports to Israel.

"If the government was truly horrified by Israel's occupation of Gaza, it would stop supplying them with the weapons they need to carry it out," said former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, now an independent member of Parliament. "The Prime Minister can condemn Israel's plans all he wants. He cannot hide the truth: His government is complicit in genocide."