BERLIN: German Chancellor Olaf Scholz on Sunday urged Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to sustainably improve the humanitarian aid and health care situation in Gaza. In a phone call with Netanyahu, Scholz also expressed satisfaction with US President Joe Biden's three-stage cease-fire proposal, according to government spokesperson Steffen Hebestreit. The two also exchanged views on the regional situation, as Scholz shared his concerns over it escalating into a wider conflict. On Friday, Biden touted a new three-phase deal meant to end hostilities in the Gaza Strip and secure the release of hostages held in the coastal enclave. Biden called on the Palestinian resistance group Hamas to accept the proposal and urged Netanyahu to resist pressure from members of his governing coalition to reject the plan. However, Netanyahu on Friday reiterated his intention to continue the deadly offensive in Gaza until all of Tel Aviv's war goals are achieved. Hamas, for its part, said it will "respond positively to any proposal that includes a permanent cease-fire, a full withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, reconstruction efforts, the return of the displaced, and the completion of a comprehensive hostage exchange deal." Israel's brutal military offensive has killed more than 36,000 Palestinians in Gaza since Oct. 7, following a Hamas incursion. The majority of those killed are women and children, with over 82,000 others injured, according to local health authorities. Vast tracts of Gaza lay in ruins amid Israel's crippling blockade of food, clean water, and medicine. Israel is accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice (ICJ), whose latest ruling ordered Tel Aviv to immediately halt its operation in Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge from the war. *Writing by Esra Tekin in Istanbul Source: Anadolu Agency
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