German FM calls for rapid humanitarian aid for Gaza

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has called for rapid humanitarian assistance for the people in the Gaza Strip, reported dpa.

"It is not just a matter of every day, it is now a matter of hours that not only the water supply is brought back, but also that food and medicine can reach Gaza," the minister said on Tuesday in Moldova on the sidelines of a conference.

"The situation in Gaza is highly dramatic," she added.

Humanitarian aid is not only central for the people in Gaza, "but also for our credibility as an international actor" in the Middle East region, Baerbock said.

Following the unprecedented Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7 and the retaliatory Israeli airstrikes on Gaza, which is ruled by Hamas, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians living in the densely populated, sealed-off coastal enclave have been displaced to the south of Gaza.

Fuel, food, electricity and water supplies to Gaza have been cut off following the attacks 10 days ago and so far humanitarian aid deliveries have not been let in.