Germany Imposes Partial Arms Embargo On Israel Over Plan To Capture Gaza City
Prime Minister Netanyahu: “Germany is rewarding Hamas terrorism.”
Germany and several European countries raised sharp criticism over Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s plan to disarm Hamas and demilitarize Gaza.
The backlash comes after Israel’s security cabinet, on Friday, approved a five-point plan to bring back the remaining hostages and disarm Hamas after twenty-two months of military operation in Gaza. One of the key features of the plan is to take temporary control of Hamas’s main stronghold of Gaza City, located in the north of the enclave.
The sharpest reaction came from Germany, with the country’s Chancellor Friedrich Merz announcing a ‘weapons embargo’ on equipment meant to be used by the Israeli military against Hamas. Germany is Israel’s second-largest arms supplier after the United States.
“European and world leaders have criticised Israel’s decision to seize control of Gaza City, warning the move risks exacerbating the already catastrophic humanitarian crisis in the Strip, and culminating in Germany’s decision to suspend its exports of weapons that could be used in Gaza,” French TV channel Euronews reported.
“The comments were echoed with even more intensity by other European politicians who made clear that the takeover of Gaza would further aggravate the current humanitarian disaster in the strip and that a ceasefire would be the only way to end the ongoing war with Hamas,” the broadcaster added.
Despite the media hype and the international outrage, the new plan hardly deviates from the current Israeli military strategy in Gaza. “From a military perspective, the cabinet’s decision does not represent a significant departure from the status quo,” the Israeli media outlet Ynetnews reported. “The ongoing strategy involves encircling and depleting Hamas-controlled areas while systematically dismantling its military infrastructure both above and below ground.”
Noting the strategic significance of going into Gaza City, the news website added: “The most significant point of leverage currently in play is the evacuation of Gaza City’s civilian population and the implicit threat of a ground invasion should Hamas refuse to engage in negotiations.”
Germany exports arms to Turkey and Qatar, two of the chief terror sponsors in the region.
But it won't help Israel finish off Hamas. pic.twitter.com/LgXSAeU0yK
— Eitan Fischberger (@EFischberger) August 8, 2025
Germany’s state-run DW TV reported Berlin’s response:
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Friday that Berlin would not approve German weapons exports to Israel for use in the Gaza Strip “until further notice.”
The announcement marks a major change of course for Germany, which has been one of Israel’s staunchest international allies.
It came as Israel’s Security Cabinet approved a plan to take over Gaza City, with the government saying it was a necessary move to destroy Hamas and free the remaining hostages held in the Gaza Strip. (…)
Merz reiterated that “Israel has the right to defend itself against Hamas terrorism.”
“The release of the hostages and determined negotiations for a ceasefire are our top priority,” he said in a statement.
However, “the even tougher military action by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip” that was approved by the Israeli Security Cabinet “makes it increasingly difficult to see how these goals can be achieved,” he added.
With the planned expansion of Israel’s offensive in Gaza, the Israeli government “bears even greater responsibility” for providing aid to civilians in the Palestinian territory, Merz said. He called for comprehensive access for UN organizations and other nongovernmental institutions.
Merz also said “the German government urges the Israeli government not to take any further steps toward annexing the West Bank.”
Germany was “rewarding Hamas terrorism,” Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in his response to Berlin’s partial arms embargo.
Berlin’s decision comes while Hamas still holds seven German hostages in Gaza. “More than two dozen of the 251 hostages taken into Gaza that day were either German citizens or members of families with German roots eligible for citizenship,” The Times of Israel observed earlier this week.
The Israel Hayom newspaper reported Prime Minister Netanyahu’s response:
“Instead of supporting Israel’s just war against Hamas, which perpetrated the most brutal attack on the Jewish people since the Holocaust, Germany is rewarding Hamas terrorism by imposing an arms embargo on Israel,” Netanyahu said.
The prime minister emphasized that Israel’s objective is not to conquer Gaza but to free it from Hamas and enable the establishment of a peaceful civilian administration.
Germany is one of Israel’s main arms suppliers, with security exports rising significantly in recent years, especially after the Hamas-led October 7 terrorist massacre.
More than 30% of Israel’s defense imports come from Germany, making it the country’s second-largest arms supplier after the US. However, there have been reports of Berlin scaling back or freezing certain arms shipments to Israel, particularly amid the ongoing Iron Swords War and allegations of violations of international law.
Instead of supporting Israel's just war against Hamas, which carried out the most horrific attack against the Jewish people since the Holocaust, Germany is rewarding Hamas terrorism by embargoing arms to Israel.
— Prime Minister of Israel (@IsraeliPM) August 8, 2025
UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who last month proposed to recognize ‘Palestinian’ statehood, also criticized the proposed Israeli plan for Gaza.
“Israel’s plans to take over Gaza City are “wrong” and “will only bring more bloodshed”, Sir Keir Starmer has said,” the BBC reported. “The prime minister urged the Israeli government to immediately reconsider its decision “to further escalate its offensive in Gaza” after Benjamin Netanyahu’s security cabinet approved the plans overnight by a majority vote.”
United Nations chief António Guterres, one of the most vicious critics of Israel since the October 7 massacre, joined the anti-Israel chorus.
“United Nations secretary-general António Guterres has criticized Israel’s plan to take control of Gaza City, with the UN chief’s spokesperson saying the decision marked “a dangerous escalation” that risks “deepening the already catastrophic consequences for millions of Palestinians,” the British newspaper Guardian reported.
Predictably, the Arab states ganged up on Israel, The Times of Israel reports:
Several Arab and Muslim countries condemn as a “dangerous escalation” Israel’s plan to take control of Gaza City.
Some 20 countries, including Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey, say the plan constituted “a flagrant violation of international law, and an attempt to entrench the illegal occupation and impose a fait accompli… in contravention of international legitimacy.
IDF eliminates several senior Hamas, Islamic Jihad terror commanders in Gaza
Despite massive international pressure, the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) was pursuing its task of wiping out the terrorist leadership and fighting forces in Gaza. The IDF, assisted by the Israel Security Agency (ISA), took out several Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terror commanders, the Israeli media reports Friday.
“In a joint operation by the IDF and the ISA, several commanders and terrorists from the Hamas and PIJ terror organizations were eliminated. They had taken part in and commanded terror activities against IDF troops in the Beit Hanoun area and inside Israeli territory on October 7,” the military said in a statement on Friday.
🔴Eliminated: Several terrorists involved in October 7th attacks were eliminated, in a joint IDF & ISA operation.
Among them:
🔺Muraad Nasser Moussa Abu Jarrad, deputy commander of the Beit Hanoun Battalion of the Islamic Jihad terror organization.
🔺Mahmoud Shukri Tiym… pic.twitter.com/TLAh7K4dhX— Israel Defense Forces (@IDF) August 8, 2025
The IDF disclosed the details of the operation:
During one of the operations, a terrorist who served as the deputy commander of the Beit Hanoun Battalion of the PIJ terror organization, Muraad Nasser Moussa Abu Jarrad, was eliminated. He had also served as the commander of the battalion for most of 2024.
The terrorist planned and directed dozens of terror activities against IDF troops in the Beit Hanoun area and took part in the murderous massacre on October 7.
In another operation, a terrorist who served as the deputy head of the anti-tank array in the Gaza City Brigade of the PIJ – Mahmoud Shukri Tiym Dardsawi, was eliminated. He took part in the murderous massacre on October 7, planned and carried out terror activities against the State of Israel and IDF troops in various areas of northern Gaza.
In additional targeted operations, several Hamas and PIJ terrorists responsible for rocket fire, mortar fire, and sniping for the Hamas terror organization were eliminated.
Israeli strike eliminates top Syria-based PFLP terrorist
An Israeli airstrike in Syria eliminated a senior operative belonging to the Iran-funded Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terrorist group.
On Thursday, “the IDF, with the direction of ISA intelligence, struck and eliminated in the area of Beqaa, Lebanon, the terrorist Muhammad Wishah “Abu Khali”, a senior Syrian terrorist in the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine … in Syria,” the military revealed on Friday.
Wishah was coordinating terrorist activities out of Syria. His terror group is part of the Hamas-led terrorist alliance in Gaza and took part in the October 7 massacre. “The terrorist was responsible for coordinating with other terrorist organizations, strengthening ties and coordination with the Shiite axis, and recently operated to advance military operations against Israeli targets,” the IDF added. “The terrorist Abu Khali was appointed as head of the terrorist organization’s Military-Security Department in Syria, after Shantal Al Aal, his predecessor, was eliminated in a hideout in Beirut in September 2024.”
The IDF said on Friday that it targeted and eliminated Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine terrorist Abu Khalil Wishah (on the right). The strike also killed Mufid Hassan. Both were PFLP members in Syria. pic.twitter.com/8BdQ4BLqPf
— Joe Truzman (@JoeTruzman) August 9, 2025
The PFLP “is a long-standing terrorist organization with a history of carrying out various terrorist attacks against Israeli’s in Israel and around the world,” the Israeli military noted in a statement.
The PFLP, a Marxist-Jihadist terrorist group, gained notoriety in the 1970s for staging a series of deadly hijackings and terrorist attacks targeting Israeli, the U.S., and European civilians, several of them in coordination with the West German communist terror groups, Red Army Faction (RAF) and Baader-Meinhof Gang.
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Comments
Israel’s plan is reasonable, necessary and quite moderate in my opinion
Any other country on the planet would have turned Gaza into ashes, after experiencing an attack such as occurred on 10-7-2023.
Too moderate in light of Pale conduct, most Pales support terrorism and should be treated as terrorists. Anything less will not be effective over the long haul. Germany’s tariffs should be doubled, with the proceeds paying to increase America’s munitions production. EU is lost, we might as well write them off now.
Germans gotta German.
Germany is too busy crushing the AfD party (using the lame excuse that Germany must never again become Nazified) to notice that they are being mean to Jews again,
They are Europeans, so, being mean to Jews comes with the territory.
plus thinking their farts don’t stink.
I’d really like to see the list of stuff embargoed. What I would be most concerned about is Germany embargoing ships and subs since it is from Germany that Israel gets such things.
Whatever. Tired of hearing about the anti-semitic Germans that probably are wishing they’d had a chance to finish the job they started in 1939 with the invasion of Poland.
Finger pointing by critics with no constructive answers. In effect, an endorsement of Hamas. Easy to sleep well in Berlin.
Has a single mile changed hands since Netanyahu made the announcement that he plans on occupying Gaza?
If Netanyahu isn’t serious it is far past time for him to end the war. He is either occupying Gaza or he is not occupying Gaza. Saying he is going to without doing it is paying the price without even trying to get any of the reward.
I am fully pro-Israel. Even Israel has to pick between the binary of victory or defeat and make a decision on if the fruits of victory are worth the costs.
I hope that the United States never has a president who is unable to make that very basic binary choice. It is hard, if you wish to be president/prime minister you have got to be capable of making those sorts of decisions it is without doubt the first and most important essential part of the job.
Germany has a difference of opinion on if occupation of Gaza is a good idea. The Germans today are not anti-Semites, they are fighting the genocide blood libel, they are still supplying the Israeli Navy even if not the army, however they draw the line at occupation.
That is a price Netanyahu paid already. If he is paying the price without receiving the goods what does that make exactly?
It’s cute that you’re lecturing a world leader, Danny, and acting like you’re not a fanboy for some of the most duplicitous politicians in history.
Also, Israel has to make a binary choice, but Germany has the benefit of “nuance” here? 🤡
And LOL at “German blood libel”.
American public opinion is turning on Israel. While most Americans are still pro-Israel the trend is in the wrong direction for Israel. Even if Israel is still highly supported in 2029 J.D. Vance is most likely an enemy of Israel just look at his close friendship to professional anti-Semite Tucker Carlson, the refusal to condemn Tucker Carlson for hosting Holocaust Denial and agreeing with it on his show, or the way J.D. Vance rewarded Tucker Carlson’s anti-Semitic turn with giving his son a massive and important role.
In case you didn’t know J.D. Vance is the current front runner for 2029.
Outside of the United States the Western world public opinion has very decisively turned on Israel. There is no move towards Israel in Africa or Asia, or South or Central America, Canada is also an enemy of Israel, Israel’s economic and scientific partners are considering sanctions and Israel is in the desperate position of hoping to get a large enough minority of EU nations to vote against Israel sanctions to prevent them. French and British sanctions happened many months ago.
BDS is on the rise and the mainstream narrative in most countries is Israel is committing genocide.
Yes Israel has a binary choice. It is militarily superior to her neighbors her existential threat is from BDS making the west turn on her, which is what the war is doing.
perfect
now the swastikas are hitting the road
we will now know where the world stands
as they have imported people who the nationals fear and now they have to
be careful not to upset them
so going against israel is a no brainer for the afro-german run country
and the rest of the euro russian gas buying populace will again oppose the jewish underdogs who this time…as long as djt/maga stay in charge are
NOT the same underdogs they were before
this should get interesting
veryyyy interesting
Germany has a restless Muslim population.
Which they are not smart enough to expel.
If Israel does go into Gaza, and if they rescue hostages, would it be appropriate in view of this if they left behind any of the German hostages that they might encounter. After all, Germany has chosen sides.
Subotai Bahadur
Israel probably didn’t appreciate those deliveries of Zyklon B.
German government:
“In order to appease/placate/kowtow to the horde of millions of goose-stepping, Jew-hating, genocidal Islamofascists/Muslim supremacists living in Germany, who are the spiritual successors to our vanquished, genocidal, Jew-hating German National Socialists from WWII, we are going to put an embargo on the world’s only Jewish state, as it battles genocidal, Arab Muslim terrorists.”
Banning political opposition parties. A government crackdown on civil liberties and freedom of speech. Supporting the killing of Jews.
Looks like Germany’s leaders want to party like it is 1933 again.
I thought that germany and japan weren’t allowed to export weapons under their peace constitution forced on them after WWII?
What kind of arms does germany export to israel?
ztakkdot mentions subs and ships.
I don’t think its possible except under the category of “police gear”. Such as helmets, bullet proof vests, light hand guns. That kind of gear is easily replaced from other sources.
Germany is also limited to working within NATO, and can’t participate in military conflict outside NATO. If NATO isn’t taking sides in conflict, germany’s hands would be tied. Germany does what NATO tells it to do. They have no real military policy of their own.
Israel has Sovereignty over Gaza.
They are expelling genocidal racist terrorists and restoring administrative control.
Stop using language that implies that they are invading a foreign country.