Critical of Israel’s intention to occupy more of Gaza and under pressure from his center-left coalition partners, Chancellor Friedrich Merz of Germany said on Friday that Germany would not authorize any exports of military equipment that could be used in Gaza “until further notice.”
Germany is the second-largest supplier of military equipment and arms to Israel after the United States, with about a third of Israeli imports, according to figures from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
Germany’s Parliament said in June that export licenses for military equipment to Israel worth 485 million euros ($565 million) were granted between Oct. 7, 2023, and May 13, 2025. The deliveries included firearms, ammunition, weapon parts, special equipment for the army and navy, electronic equipment and armored vehicles, the government said in response to a parliamentary request.
The main imports from Germany are frigates and torpedoes, the institute said, which are unlikely to have much use in Gaza. Still, the Merkava tank, Israel’s main battle tank, depends on engine and gearbox parts made in Germany, a senior German official said. Though the monetary value is not large, the parts are important, the official said.
It was not immediately clear what arms Germany would now withhold from exporting to Israel.
As Germany has done in previous statements, Mr. Merz emphasized that Israel “has the right to defend itself against Hamas’s terror,” that Hamas must not play a role in the future of Gaza and that the release of Israeli hostages and a cease-fire “are our top priority.” He again urged that Israel desist from annexing any further territory in the West Bank.
But the chancellor also underscored that Israel was obligated to provide for the nutrition and health of Gazans, saying that, having decided on a further offensive in an already devastated Gaza, “the Israeli government bears even greater responsibility than before for providing for their needs.”
Germany, like the United States, has refused to recognize Palestine as a state before it comes into existence, rejecting the views of France and Britain that such recognition will advance the prospects of a two-state solution. Germany believes instead that such recognition only hardens Israeli resistance to the idea.
Germany believes a state of Palestine must emerge from negotiations between Israel and the Palestinians, but has urged Mr. Netanyahu to begin serious negotiations toward that end.