NYT: Merz presses Netanyahu in tense calls over Gaza aid

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz has held several “tough” and at times “angry” phone conversations with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in recent weeks, urging him to agree to a cease-fire in Gaza and allow significantly more humanitarian aid into the enclave, according to a senior German official who spoke to The New York Times on condition of anonymity.

The official also revealed that Merz, alongside French President Emmanuel Macron and British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, jointly contacted US President Donald Trump on July 28, appealing for him to exert more pressure on Netanyahu to expand aid access to Gaza. 

The diplomatic push comes amid growing public and political pressure on Merz’s government to take a firmer stance on the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza. 

“Merz faces pressure on multiple fronts for more decisive action,” said Thorsten Benner, director of the Global Public Policy Institute in Berlin. He pointed to increasing frustration domestically, within Merz’s own governing coalition, and from European partners.

Germany’s historically unwavering support for Israel—rooted in its responsibility after the Holocaust—has come under strain as images and reports from Gaza, including widespread malnutrition and even starvation, have stirred public outrage. German public opinion has shifted markedly against Israel over the past year, and Merz’s coalition partners, particularly the center-left Social Democrats, are now calling for limits or a full halt to weapons deliveries to Israel.

Compounding the pressure, Macron and Starmer are both moving toward recognising a Palestinian state even without a final peace agreement—steps Merz has rejected. Like Trump, he maintains that a Palestinian state must be the product of direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians. However, Merz has signaled that Germany supports the launch of such a process.

By Sabina Mammadli