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Bundestag President Julia Klöckner became the first senior German politician to enter the Gaza Strip since the ceasefire began in October, visiting the territory on Thursday under Israeli military escort despite security warnings from German diplomats.
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The Federal Foreign Office and the German embassy in Tel Aviv expressed security concerns and explicitly advised against entering the Gaza Strip, according to reports.
Klöckner travelled to Israel from Tuesday to Thursday at the invitation of Knesset President Amir Ohana. She met Ohana in Jerusalem on Wednesday and laid a wreath at the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial.
The CDU politician described Israel as “the only democracy in the Middle East” with “a right to exist” and “also the right of defence”. She announced plans to visit the site of the Nova music festival, where Hamas-led militants killed hundreds of people during the 7 October 2023 attack.
Klöckner’s access to Gaza remained strictly limited, taking place under Israeli army escort. Journalists accompanying her were not permitted to enter the territory.
“Humanitarian aid is not a political concession, but a moral duty,” she told the German press. “Naming this humanitarian situation does not mean perpetrator-victim reversal.”
She called for more access for international, independent observers while making clear she does not accept the current security arrangements as permanent.
Political backlash in Berlin
SPD politician Adis Ahmetovic told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung the visit accompanied by the Israeli army was a “blatant signal” and criticised the lack of meetings with official Palestinian representatives.
Green Party chairwoman Franziska Brantner told Der Spiegel it was “good that Bundestag President Julia Klöckner wants to get an impression of Gaza for herself on the ground.”
“If she does so without even listening to the Palestinian side, she must accept the accusation that she only wants to see one side of the reality in this region,” Brantner added.
Amnesty International had called on Klöckner before the trip to address the humanitarian emergency in Gaza.
The current ceasefire took effect on 10 October following a US-brokered agreement led by President Donald Trump. The situation remains tense, with repeated incidents in which Palestinians have been killed in restricted zones, according to Israeli reports.
The Rafah border crossing with Egypt partially reopened on 2 February, allowing limited movement in both directions. Around 50 people per day cross the border, mostly medical cases requiring treatment.
Aid organisations say these numbers fall far short of needs in the Gaza Strip.
Klöckner became Bundestag president in March 2025, succeeding Bärbel Bas. She previously served as Federal Minister of Food and Agriculture from 2018 to 2021 in Chancellor Angela Merkel’s government.
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