Tel Aviv – Germany's Foreign Minister Heiko Maas expressed support for Israel as he visited on Thursday, and called for a ceasefire between the Jewish state and Gaza's Islamist rulers Hamas.
"I came here to express my solidarity... Israel has the right to defend itself against this massive and unacceptable attack," he said at a joint news conference with his Israeli counterpart, Gabi Ashkenazi, in Tel Aviv.
Maas
visited after 10 days of fighting between Israel and Hamas.
Militants in the blockaded Gaza Strip have fired more than 4 000 rockets towards Israel, said the Israeli military, which responded with devastating air strikes.
Maas said:
The German foreign minister said he was in "nearly constant contact" with Ashkenazi during the past week, as well as diplomats in Cairo, Doha, Amman and Washington.
"I hope that the efforts to reach a ceasefire will also be successful," he said.
Maas is scheduled to meet Palestinian President Mahmud Abbas in Ramallah. He has no plans to meet with Hamas, which the European Union considers a terrorist organisation.