Israeli ambassador blasts Germany for ignoring starving hostages in Gaza

Germany’s foreign ministry and its ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, issued a series of attacks on the Jewish state on X, prompting Israel’s Ambassador Ron Prosor and German Jews to accuse Berlin of ignoring the hostages held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Prosor wrote on Monday on X to the German-language account of the foreign ministry: "Dear @AuswaertigesAmt, you never miss an opportunity to distort the facts. Israel has fully complied with its obligations under the agreement to release our hostages, including the massive flow of aid into Gaza. The only people suffering hunger and deprivation in Gaza are the Israeli hostages. They are being deliberately starved by Hamas. This is not mentioned in the German Foreign Office X account."

He added that "Israel has agreed to extend the ceasefire for the period of Ramadan and Passover. At the same time, we insist on the release of our hostages. In the face of Hamas refusal, the German Foreign Office expects us to go about business as usual. The goods transferred to Gaza have become the number one source of income for Hamas, who is running a massive aid industry for terrorist purposes. To listen to the German Foreign Office today is to capitulate to Hamas - that is not our way."

Prosor’s angry X post was in response to a German foreign ministry X post with an embedded video blaming Jerusalem for the stoppage of humanitarian aid into Gaza. According to the German foreign ministry X post, "The civilian population in Gaza is still suffering from a lack of emergency shelter and medical equipment. We call on the Israeli government to immediately lift restrictions on humanitarian aid imports into Gaza."

"Unimpeded access for humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip must be guaranteed at all times," German foreign ministry spokesman Sebastian Fischer said, adding that "Granting or denial of humanitarian access is not a legitimate means of pressure in negotiations."

On Sunday, US Senator Tom Cotton (Republican-Arkansas) defended Israel’s suspension of aid to Gaza. "We didn’t provide aid to Nazi Germany during World War II. The idea is preposterous. Why should Israel be forced to provide aid to Hamas-run Gaza?" 

The news editor of Germany’s largest paper, the Bild, wrote on X that "It is shameful for Germany that the Israeli ambassador has to write something like that about the AA. #NeverAgainIsNow."

The AA is the German-language abbreviation for the German foreign ministry. The Green party German foreign minister Annalena Baerbock imposed a weapons embargo on Israel and organized a private dinner with a group of hardcore anti-Israel and antisemitic activists prior to the IDF’s Tulkarm operation.

Hamas TV reports from late February seem to contradict the German government’s position that there is an aid crisis in Gaza. 

The Washington-based Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) published an Al-Aqsa TV (Gazan-based and Hamas-affiliated network) clip from February 25 that shows well-stocked supermarkets in Gaza. According to MEMRI’s translation, shoppers told the reporter that "everything is back to normal." The report covered two supermarkets in Nuseirat and one in Deir Al-Balah. One customer said, "Before this hypermarket [re-opened], the prices were really high. Now the prices are reasonable. The prices are somewhat under control. As you can see, there is a variety of products and stuff."

Separately but related, Germany’s controversial ambassador to Israel, Steffen Seibert, praised the documentary "No Other Land" that won an Oscar on Sunday. Seibert, who reportedly posted antisemitic, pro-Hamas talking points in December, wrote: "Those who attack this documentary should watch it. It’s a cry for peace, a non-violent protest."

After the Oscar win, i24NEWS reported on the controversy associated with the documentary. Entertainment and royal journalist Josh Rom told i24NEWS: "It's great to call for peace and a political solution, as Yuval Abraham did at the Academy Awards, but does the Palestinian society want this voice? Does this message reflect the reality of what most Palestinians want?"

A prominent German Jewish pro-Israel activist, Malca Goldstein-Wolf called for Germany’s government to recall Seibert. Israel’s government has rebuked Seibert three times for alleged pro-Hamas and anti-Israel activism. Goldstein-Wrote blasted Seiber.t She said that just as Israel was mourning the dead hostages, Germany’s representative in Israel showed its true face. She noted that ”The team behind No Other Land spends their entire acceptance speech denigrating Israel, calling for “resistance,’ and criticizing the war in Gaza... without even mentioning Hamas, It really is time for you to be recalled.”

She continued that the “Israel, the country that emerged from the ashes of 6 million Jews, needs a German ambassador with a functioning compass of values.”