The German Green Party has accused the federal government of failing to take sufficient action to alleviate the suffering of civilians in the Gaza Strip. While acknowledging the “dramatic situation” and specifically identifying 470,000 people facing acute hunger, the government, according to the Greens, has not drawn the necessary consequences from this assessment.
The criticism stems from a recent government response to inquiries from the Green Party parliamentary group regarding the humanitarian situation in Gaza. In the written response, revealed by “Der Spiegel”, the government describes the conditions as “unbearable.
A key point of contention revolves around the Gaza Humanitarian Foundation (GHF), a private organization contracted by the Israeli government to distribute food aid to civilians in Gaza since late May. According to the government’s assessment, “it is now apparent that this new distribution mechanism of the GHF does not sufficiently reach the civilian population and does not operate according to humanitarian principles.
While the government praises an agreement reached between the Israeli government and the EU on July 10th, which allows for the resumption of aid delivery by other organizations, it emphasizes the need for swift and visible implementation of the agreement.
The government’s written response explicitly calls on the Israeli government to “immediately enable the full resumption of aid deliveries to the Gaza Strip and to allow the United Nations and humanitarian organizations to carry out their work independently and impartially.
Boris Mijatovic, Green Party spokesperson on human rights and humanitarian aid, criticized the government, stating that the GHF’s actions are failing to adhere to humanitarian principles and reliably reach those in need. He further alleges that the government’s inaction, despite acknowledging these shortcomings and the reported deaths of over 800 civilians near GHF distribution centers, represents a “passive spectator role”. Mijatovic also pointed to a perceived shift in the stance of Foreign Minister Wadephul, noting a prior criticism of Israeli military actions in Gaza that has since been retracted, which he described as a “fatal signal”.
