Germany, Israel’s No. 2 arms dealer, halts exports over Gaza concerns

GRAZ, Austria – Germany will halt weapons exports to Israel until further notice in response to the Netanyahu government’s decision to militarily occupy Gaza City.

The halt will prevent the granting of permissions for the export of all weapons and military goods “that may be utilized in the Gaza Strip,” Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced in Berlin on Friday.

He said the step was a direct response to “the Israeli cabinet’s decision to take even tougher military action by the Israeli army in the Gaza Strip,” which was announced the night before.

The Israeli political decision to undertake a majorly expanded ground operation was made despite the Israeli Defense Forces’ chief of staff and other senior officers openly opposing plans for a complete takeover of the territory.

The announcement by Merz represents the continuation of a remarkable shift in Berlin’s position vis-à-vis Israel.

Germany has long stood as a stalwart supporter of Tel Aviv for a sense of historical responsibility rooted in the atrocities of the Holocaust. This has sometimes put the government in Berlin at odds with public opinion.

During his announcement, Merz reaffirmed Israel’s “right to self-defense” and the necessity of disarming Hamas.

Since the start of the conflict until mid-May, Berlin approved the delivery of €485 million ($565 million) in weapons and military gear to Israel, according to a government tally .

Germany accounted for around 30% of Israel’s arms imports between 2019 and 2023, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, placing it second only to the United States. German weapons exports to Israel grew significantly following the start of hostilities in the fall of 2023.

Previously, Chancellor Merz’s government had warned Israel that the country risked consequences if it continued its disproportionate response to Hamas’ attacks of Oct. 7, 2023.

In May, Germany’s foreign minister, Johann Wadephul, called the situation in the Palestinian Gaza Strip “unbearable,” and said that a halt to arms and even sanctions were on the table if Israel continued unabated.

The Gaza Health Ministry has counted over 61,000 Palestinians killed in the war. Independent studies suggest that the actual number may be significantly higher.

Local health authorities reported that nearly 200 people, almost half of whom were children, have died of hunger in the conflict. The World Health Organization, an impartial UN Agency, said that about 12,000 children younger than five were suffering from acute malnutrition in July.

In late July, Germany and Jordan announced a joint air lift operation to supply Gaza with food and medicine from the air.

Pressure has mounted on the Israeli government in recent months as the human suffering in the Gaza Strip reached new levels as a result of indiscriminate Israeli bombing and blockading of the territory.

Several Western governments traditionally supportive of Israel have shifted their stance in response. France, the UK and Canada all announced their intention to formally recognize a Palestinian state, something Germany has not yet done.

Human rights organizations, including several in Israel , have called Israeli actions against the Palestinian people genocidal.

Berlin’s halt of weapons deliveries does not represent a total arms embargo, and it leaves the door open for the delivery of gear that cannot be used against Gaza, such as potentially air defense systems.

Linus Höller is Defense News' Europe correspondent and OSINT investigator. He reports on the arms deals, sanctions, and geopolitics shaping Europe and the world. He holds master’s degrees in WMD nonproliferation, terrorism studies, and international relations, and works in four languages: English, German, Russian, and Spanish.

奥地利格拉茨——德国将停止向以色列出口武器，直至另行通知，以回应内塔尼亚胡政府对加沙城的军事占领决定。

德国总理弗里德里希·默茨周五在柏林宣布，暂停出口所有“可能在加沙地带使用的”武器和军需品将不再获得出口许可。

他表示，此举是对“以色列内阁决定对加沙地带采取更强硬的军事行动”的直接回应，该决定于前一天晚上宣布。

尽管以色列国防军总参谋长和其他高级军官公开反对全面占领该地区的计划，但以色列政府还是做出了大幅扩大地面作战规模的政治决定。

梅尔茨的声明标志着柏林对以色列的立场发生了显著转变，而这一转变仍在继续。

长期以来，德国一直是特拉维夫的坚定支持者，这源于其对纳粹大屠杀暴行的历史责任感。这有时会导致柏林政府与公众舆论产生分歧。

在宣布这一消息时，梅尔茨重申了以色列的“自卫权”以及解除哈马斯武装的必要性。

根据政府统计，从冲突开始到 5 月中旬，柏林批准向以色列交付价值 4.85 亿欧元（5.65 亿美元）的武器和军事装备。

根据斯德哥尔摩国际和平研究所的数据，2019年至2023年间，德国约占以色列武器进口的30%，仅次于美国。自2023年秋季冲突爆发以来，德国对以色列的武器出口显著增长。

此前，梅尔茨总理领导的政府曾警告以色列，如果继续对哈马斯于 2023 年 10 月 7 日发动的袭击做出不成比例的回应，该国将面临后果。

今年5月，德国外交部长约翰·瓦德普尔称巴勒斯坦加沙地带的局势“令人无法忍受”，并表示如果以色列继续肆无忌惮，停止武器供应甚至实施制裁都在考虑之列。

加沙卫生部统计，已有超过61000名巴勒斯坦人在战争中丧生。但独立研究表明，实际死亡人数可能远高于此。

当地卫生部门报告称，冲突中已有近200人死于饥饿，其中近一半是儿童。联合国下属的公正机构——世界卫生组织表示，7月份约有12000名五岁以下儿童患有急性营养不良。

7 月下旬，德国和约旦宣布联合开展空运行动，从空中向加沙运送食品和药品。

近几个月来，由于以色列对加沙地带进行不分青红皂白的轰炸和封锁，加沙地带的人道主义灾难达到了新的程度，以色列政府面临的压力也越来越大。

一些传统上支持以色列的西方国家政府已改变立场。法国、英国和加拿大均已宣布有意正式承认巴勒斯坦国，而德国尚未采取行动。

包括以色列在内的多个人权组织称以色列对巴勒斯坦人民采取的行动是种族灭绝。

柏林停止武器交付并不代表全面武器禁运，这为交付不能用于对付加沙的装备（例如潜在的防空系统）敞开了大门。

林努斯·霍勒是《防务新闻》的欧洲记者和开源情报调查员。他报道影响欧洲乃至全球的军火交易、制裁和地缘政治。他拥有大规模杀伤性武器不扩散、恐怖主义研究和国际关系三个硕士学位，并精通英语、德语、俄语和西班牙语四种语言。