Germany justifies Israel’s killing of 100 Palestinians at a School Shelter in Gaza
Germany, standing against the EU on Monday, defended Israel after the latter conducted an airstrike on a school that housed displaced Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. The killings of not less than 1000 people have elicited international condemnation, yet Germany supports its ally Israel, saying that the attack was a justified act of defense.
In a press briefing in Berlin, the German government’s deputy spokesman, Wolfgang Buechner, reiterated Berlin’s support for Israel. “Israel has the right to defend itself,” Buechner affirmed, and this, indeed, was the general opinion of most of the panelists. He also said: “The fact is that Hamas turns schools, hospitals, kindergartens into command posts and also people of the Gaza Strip are forced, against their will, to act as protective human shields,” repeating the statements of Israel to justify the military operations in the civilian territories.
Nevertheless, Buechner failed to substantiate these claims against Hamas the same way he presented Samaritan narratives in similar incidents affiliated with Israel’s perspective. He also warned not to believe reports from Hamas, saying, “You also know that is also a sad reality in this situation, and I think one has to be very careful about sitting on one-sided reports that are distributed by Hamas and believing everything that is spread by this side.”
Buechner’s comments are pretty much opposed to the sentiments of EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, who vociferously criticized the airstrike on Saturday. The raid was conducted during the night, and it struck Al-Taba’een School in the Al-Daraj area of the Gaza Strip, where Palestinians were performing fajr prayers; at least 100 people were killed.
“Shocked by images from a sheltering school in a Gaza school struck by an Israeli attack, with at least dozens of Palestinians killed,” Borrell said in X.
Borrell also provided information concerning the loss of lives categorized to have occurred due to conflict that began in early October; over 40000 Palestinians have been reported to have been killed. His statement is an echo of the worries of the global society about increasing tensions and high death tolls in Gaza.
In this case, Germany’s position serves as indicative of the persistent divisions in the international society, especially on the conduct of Israel’s forces in Gaza. Some countries like Germany are backing Israel’s right to respond to such attacks, but most nations are becoming disparate with the huge civilian cost of these actions in the environments that are habited to foment security, let alone sanctuary.
