Germany Urges Ceasefire İn Gaza

Germany's Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier has urged a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas and called on Arab countries to support the Egyptian ceasefire initiative.



"There is no alternative to ceasefire," Steinmeier told journalists in Berlin on Monday. "It is in our interest to prevent the death of innocent people as much as possible."



Underlining Germany's support for the Egyptian ceasefire initiative, Steinmeier called on Arab countries to support this plan.



He said: "We hope that Egyptian peace initiative would not fade away but, on the contrary, would draw the support of the other members of the Arab League as well."



Egypt tabled a ceasefire proposal last week calling on Israel to cease hostilities in Gaza, halt ground operations and refrain from targeting civilians, according to an Egyptian Foreign Ministry statement.



It also called on Palestinian Hamas to cease hostilities against Israel, halt rocket fire and cross-border attacks and stop targeting civilians.



Since July 7, Israel has been bombarding Gaza and launched a large-scale ground incursion on Thursday. At least 541 Palestinians and 22 Israelis have been killed.



Steinmeier, who travelled to the region last week for talks with Israeli and Palestinian leaders that failed to yield any result, held Hamas responsible for the failure of previous ceasefire initiatives.



He said: "Hamas did not accept the previous two ceasefire proposals. It restarted firing rockets in a couple of hours, knowing that it would further undermine the chance for reaching a ceasefire."



www.aa.com.tr/en - Berlin