

German Chancellor: Aid must reach Gaza on a larger scale
German Chancellor urges Israel to allow humanitarian aid access to Gaza on a larger scale, ahead of a two-day trip to the Middle East.

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Saturday urged Israel to allow humanitarian aid access to Gaza on a larger scale, ahead of a two-day trip to the Middle East, Reuters reported.
Scholz will meet Jordan's King Abdullah in Aqaba on Sunday, before flying on to Israel to meet with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.
"It is necessary for aid to reach Gaza on a larger scale now. That will be a topic that I also have to talk about," Scholz told journalists ahead of his trip, according to Reuters.
He also voiced concern about Israel's planned offensive in the southern Gaza city of Rafah.
"There is a danger that a comprehensive offensive in Rafah will result in many terrible civilian casualties, which must be strictly prohibited," said Scholz.
Scholz visited Israel in the early days of the war, meeting with Netanyahu and with President Isaac Herzog.
The Chancellor also felt firsthand what Israelis are going through, when a rocket barrage was launched at Tel Aviv and central Israel as he was preparing to depart from Ben Gurion Airport, prompting the evacuation of the Chancellor's plane.
Meanwhile, Germany's air force on Saturday said it dropped pallets with four tons of relief goods by air into Gaza.
"Every package counts. But airdrops are just a drop in the ocean," the foreign ministry said on social media.