Israel Wants to Attack Gaza Again,Germany Will Suspend Military Exports to Israel ForGaza

Chancellor Friedrich Merz onstage in front of the flags of Germany and European Union. 

Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany last month. He said the country would stop exporting weapons to Israel that could be used in the Gaza Strip.Credit...John MacDougall/Agence France-Presse — Getty  

Steven Erlanger

By Steven Erlanger

Reporting from Berlin

Aug. 8, 2025

Updated 9:45 a.m. ET

New York Times

Consequently, he said, “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.”

Critical of Israel’s intention to occupy more of Gaza and under pressure from his center-left coalition partners, Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany said on Friday that Germany would not authorize any exports of military equipment that could be used in Gaza “until further notice.”

Given the history of the Holocaust, Germany has made the survival of Israel one of its own basic principles of state. Mr. Merz, a conservative, made support for Israel a bedrock of his political campaign. So to suspend arms shipments to Israel is consequently a significant step and break with the postwar past, even if it is not expected to have a decisive impact on Israel’s ability to conduct future operations in Gaza.

The decision followed weeks of debate inside Germany about how best to respond to credible reports of widespread malnutrition and even starvation in Gaza. But the move was precipitated by the Israeli government’s decision early on Friday to escalate its military activity in Gaza rather than seek a cease-fire and negotiations for the release of Israeli hostages still held by Hamas.

In a statement, Mr. Merz said, “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 these goals will be achieved.” 

A child screaming with a pot in hand, tightly surrounded by other people holding out pots and wearing distressed expressions.

Palestinians waited outside a charity kitchen to receive a meal in Gaza City on Monday.Credit...Saher Alghorra for The New York Times

As Germany has done in previous statements, Mr. Merz emphasized that Israel “has the right to defend itself against Hamas’s terror,” that Hamas must not play a role in the future of Gaza and that the release of Israeli hostages and a cease-fire “are our top priority.” He again urged that Israel desist from annexing any further territory in the West Bank.

But the chancellor also underscored that Israel was obligated to provide for the nutrition and health of Gazans, saying that, having decided on a further offensive in an already devastated Gaza, “the Israeli government bears even greater responsibility than before for providing for their needs.”

Along with the United States, Germany is a close ally of Israel and feels a special responsibility for the survival of the state after the crimes of the Holocaust under the Nazi regime. 

Germany, like the United States, has refused to recognize Palestine as a state before it comes into existence, rejecting the views of France and Britain that such recognition will advance the prospects of a two-state solution. Germany believes instead that such recognition only hardens Israeli resistance to the idea.

Germany believes a state of Palestine must emerge from negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, but has urged Mr. Netanyahu to begin serious negotiations toward that end.

But Mr. Merz has come under increasing political pressure from his coalition partners, the center-left Social Democrats, to act more firmly on Gaza. They have called for halting or limiting weapon deliveries to Israel. They also want Germany to support at least a partial suspension of the European Union’s association agreement with Israel, which allows for cooperation in technology, culture and other areas.

But his party’s political sibling, the Bavarian-based Christian Social Union, has been loud in demanding that Germany continue forthright support of Israel and Mr. Netanyahu.

Germany is the second-largest supplier of military equipment and arms to Israel after the United States, with about a third of Israeli imports, according to figures from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. 

The main imports from Germany are frigates and torpedoes, the institute said, which are unlikely to have much use in Gaza. Still, the Merkava tank, Israel’s main battle tank, depends on engine and gearbox parts made in Germany, a senior German official said. Though the monetary value is not large, the parts are important, the official said.

It was not immediately clear what arms Germany would now withhold from exporting to Israel.

Still, the quick German response will be felt in Israel and is likely to be followed by other countries. Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp of the Netherlands said on X that Israeli escalation in Gaza would intensify suffering and not bring home the hostages, criticism echoed by his Danish colleague, Foreign Minister Lars Lokke Rasmussen, who said that “it will only lead to even greater suffering for the civilian population.”

Already last week, Slovenia announced it would ban the import, export and transit of all weapons to and from Israel. Previously, the Dutch stopped providing spare parts for F-35 jet fighters, Britain suspended a few arms-export licenses, Canada suspended any new permits for arms exports to Israel, and Italy stopped new permits for arms exports after Hamas attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

Germany’s Parliament said in June that export licenses for military equipment to Israel worth 485 million euros ($565 million) were granted between Oct. 7, 2023, and May 13, 2025. The deliveries included firearms, ammunition, weapon parts, special equipment for the army and navy, electronic equipment and armored vehicles, the government said in response to a parliamentary request