German minister warns Israel that no military goal justifies Gaza deaths

Reem Alabali-Radovan makes emotional plea on behalf of Palestinians in warning to Israel of man-made catastrophe

Germany's new Development Minister Reem Alabali-Radovan said 'the continued violence is not only destroying lives, but also any prospect of peace'. Getty Images

Germany’s Development Minister Reem Alabali-Radovan, a refugee born of Iraqi parents, was on the verge of tears on Monday as she called on Israel to stop “destroying lives in Gaza”.

Newly appointed as a cabinet minister in the post of Federal Minister for Economic Co-operation and Development, Ms Alabali-Radovan demanded full humanitarian access to the besieged territory.

My personal history as a refugee coming to Germany shows the point that if we don’t do anything with those crises is that people tend to flee

Reem Alabali-Radovan

“There can and must be no military goal that justifies children starving, mothers being unable to receive treatment for their injured children, or entire families being buried under rubble,” she told the Hamburg Sustainability Conference. “No political strategy must lead to the blocking of humanitarian aid.”

Warning of a “man-made humanitarian catastrophe”, Ms Alabali–Radovan said an immediate ceasefire must be followed by permanent restoration of aid flows. “Without a ceasefire, there will be no protection for civilians, no secure supply, and no prospect of political solutions,” she said.

“The continued violence is not only destroying lives, but also any prospect of peace. The Hamas terrorist attack on October 7 was a barbaric act. Protecting one's own population is a legitimate goal – both military and political,” she added. “But every state action is subject to international law.”

German political culture has been highly supportive of Israel throughout the conflict, with ministers loath to depart from an approach guided by history. Chancellor Friedrich Merz, of the centre-right Christian Democratic Union (CDU), has entered office at a time of crisis in Germany’s position on Gaza.

He is reportedly charting a new course with a harder line on aid access. The German leader spoke by phone with Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu to warn of the urgent need to allow sufficient humanitarian aid to flow into the Gaza Strip.

Ms Alabali-Radovan was backed up in her assertions by Cindy McCain, the director general of the World Food Programme, who hit out at accusation of looting and diversion of aid on entry to Gaza. “In the case of Gaza it is such a catastrophe,” she said.

“These people are not terrorists, they are starving to death. If they see an aid truck coming they want food for their families. I would do anything to feed my family. I think you would too.”

The Social Democrat politician is the first from her Middle Eastern background to have reached the highest rung of German politics. She was born in Moscow, where her Chaldean Iraqi parents were exiled in the Soviet Union, having fled the regime of Saddam Hussein.

The family then moved to Germany, where she grew up. In the early part of her career she worked with refugees before entering politics and working for a spell as minister for integration. Now as a development minister at time when the US and other major allies have cut spending designed to assist the world’s poorest, Ms Alabali-Radovan is seeking to use Germany’s strong budget for global assistance to build trust.

“It is my job to explain why it is important to Germany that we cope with the crisis we are speaking about,” she said. “My personal history as a refugee coming to Germany shows the point that if we don’t do anything with crises then people tend to flee, they don’t want to but they have to, and I give this example to show why it's important.”

Reem Alabali-Radovan takes the oath in the Bundestag. AFP

Sponsors of the Hamburg conference hope the meeting can provide a counter-balance to the dramatic move by the Trump administration to withdraw from the multilateral international institutions.