Horst Mahler was once legal counsel for Nazi hunter Beate Klarsfeld before cofounding the anti-Israel Red Army Faction; he later turned to far-right extremism and Holocaust denial

As domestic and international pressure builds, Merz also said Germany will participate in an airlift to deliver food and medical supplies to Gaza.

By Sarah Marsh and Andreas Rinke BERLIN (Reuters) -German Chancellor Friedrich Merz is under pressure to take a firmer stance on Israel, with members of his own coalition calling for Berlin to join a statement by dozens of Western nations condemning the "inhumane killing" of Palestinians.

Israel says it is fighting against Hamas, not Palestinians as a group. But two of Israel’s best-known rights groups — long critical of Israeli policy — now say they disagree.

Former German president Joachim Gauck has criticized Israel's military campaign in Gaza, calling it "disproportionate" and "irresponsible. " "Too much suffering is being inflicted on too many innocent people to punish the guilty,

At the G7, the German chancellor's support for Israeli violence reflects the country's deep investment in Islamophobia, Orientalism and colonial domination across the Middle East

Israeli government must cease its intense military operations, allow for a ceasefire, and most importantly, permit humanitarian aid to reach the people,' says Chancellor Friedrich Merz - Anadolu Ajans

Israel will coordinate airdrops of aid into Gaza from foreign countries in the coming days, an Israeli security official confirmed to ABC News.

Israel ended a truce in Gaza in March, hoping to break Hamas. The move has heightened suffering for Palestinians but achieved few, if any, Israeli goals.

LONDON — Britain threatened Tuesday to take further action against Israel if it does not agree to end the war in Gaza, a day after two dozen mostly European countries condemned Israel’s restrictions on aid shipments into the territory and the killings of hundreds of Palestinians trying to reach food.