Germany's Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul has called on Israel to rapidly improve the humanitarian situation in the Gaza Strip.
Germany has provided Israel with truck scanners to inspect lorries carrying aid supplies for the Gaza Strip, he said on Tuesday ahead of meetings with representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), the World Health Organization (WHO) and the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva.
These scanners, he said, are not yet being used by Israel, "which is unacceptable".
He had told the Israeli government "we have made these devices available so that they can be used at a border crossing to ensure that more humanitarian goods can get through".
Wadephul described conditions inside the Gaza Strip as "truly intolerable," and said he wanted to "ensure that we really do achieve a rapid improvement in the situation".
At the same time, Wadephul emphasized that there would only be a lasting improvement in the Gaza Strip if the Palestinian militant group Hamas were finally disarmed.
He said he had discussed this with his colleagues in Turkey and the Gulf emirate of Qatar, and had asked them to use their "channels of communication with Hamas to ensure that the promised and agreed disarmament process finally begins."
"Whoever makes the first move does not necessarily have the worst cards," Wadephul said.
During his visit to Geneva, Wadephul is also campaigning for support for Germany's bid for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council for the period from 2027 to 2029.
