German FM in Israel visit calls for 'less intensive' Gaza combat

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock has urged Israel to ease its military campaign in Gaza and do more to protect civilians in the besieged Palestinian territory.

Germany has been one of Israel's most steadfast supporters since the start of the conflict with Hamas, but Baerbock warned that Israel's security also depended on limiting civilian deaths.

"It is increasingly clear that the Israeli army must do more to protect civilians in Gaza. It must find ways to fight Hamas without harming large numbers of Palestinians," she said Sunday.

"The suffering of many innocent people cannot go on like this. We need less intensive management of operations," Baerbock said on a visit to Jerusalem as the Israel-Hamas war entered a fourth month.

The foreign minister still reaffirmed Germany's strong support for Israel on her fourth trip to the region since the war erupted on October 7 with a Hamas attack on Israel.

"Your country can strongly count on our solidarity in the fight against the blind terror that seeks to wipe Israel off the the map," Baerbock said.

"If Hamas did not fanatically pursue this senseless struggle, the war would have been long finished," she added.

But Baerbock also said that Israel had to clearly consider how it would fight the war and handle Gaza after the conflict. She said that Palestinians must not be "expelled" from the territory, referring to calls by extreme right wing Israeli politicians for settlers to return to Gaza.

The Hamas attack on Israel left about 1,140 deaths, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Militant fighters also took about 250 hostages, 132 of whom remain in captivity, according to Israel. At least 24 are believed to have been killed.

Israel's military response has killed at least 22,835 people, most of them women and children, according to the Gaza health ministry.

Baerbock will also meet with Palestinian Authority foreign minister Riyad al-Maliki on this trip. She then travels to Egypt and Lebanon.