German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on Monday that the first phase of U.S. President Donald Trump's plans to halt the war in Gaza must be achieved by the start of next week at the latest but added that all the other issues would need time.
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul, Agencja Wyborcza.pl/Dawid Zuchowicz/via Reuters
German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul said on Monday that the first phase of U.S. President Donald Trump's plans to halt the war in Gaza must be achieved by the start of next week at the latest but added that all the other issues would need time.
The first phase aims at a ceasefire, release of hostages and prisoners, restraint in the military conflict and bringing in supplies to Gaza - all of which are feasible, said Wadephul.
"All other issues are very complicated and, indeed, that is why they also need time," said Wadephul at a press conference in Tel Aviv.
"We must not abandon all diplomatic efforts, but I would like to focus now on taking this first decisive step together."
Reporting by Miranda Murray and Alexander Cornwall
Israel kept up strikes on southern Lebanon on Tuesday, pressing its campaign against Hezbollah a day after U.S. President Donald Trump asked Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu not to attack Beirut, averting further escalation in the three-month-old war.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot declared Tuesday that "nothing can justify" Israel's continued military operations and prolonged presence in Lebanon, conveniently ignoring the fundamental reason Israel is there in the first place.
Lebanon announced a partial ceasefire between Hezbollah and Israel on Monday in what would amount to a limited de-escalation of a conflict that has killed thousands of people and inflamed the broader U.S.-Israeli war with Iran.
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