Germany has announced it will restart exporting weapons to Israel following a ceasefire in Gaza more than a month ago.
The German government said exports would resume from 24 November after it suspended sales of military equipment that could be used in the Gaza Strip in August.
Germany – the second largest supplier of arms to Israel behind the US – stopped shipments after Israel approved a ground offensive to take over Gaza City.
Since then, Israel and Hamas have signed the first phase of a peace deal that came into force on 10 October. Germany said the ceasefire had now “stabilised” and that was the basis for them to lift the suspension.
A spokesperson for the German government said on Monday: “We expect everyone to stick to the agreements that have been made.
“This means that the ceasefire holds, that humanitarian aid is provided on a large scale and that the process continues in an orderly manner as agreed.”
At the time of the initial suspension, Israel had approved a plan to capture and occupy all of Gaza City, which the UN warned would lead to “more massive forced displacement” and “more killing”.
The plan drew widespread condemnation from Israel’s allies including Germany, a staunch supporter of the country following the Nazi Holocaust during World War Two when more than six million Jewish people were killed.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in August that while Israel had “the right to defend itself against Hamas’ terror”, the German government was “profoundly concerned about the continued suffering” of people in the Gaza Strip.
Between 2020 and 2024, Germany accounted for 33% of Israel’s military arms imports, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute.
The majority of these were warships followed by torpedoes. Germany also supplies parts for engines used in Merkava tanks.
A government spokesperson said that from next week, a decision on arms exports to Israel would be “made on a case-by-case basis”.
Hamas-led gunmen attacked Israel on 7 October 2023, killing about 1,200 people and taking 251 hostage.
At least 69,483 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli military action in Gaza since then, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Since the ceasefire came into effect, Hamas has returned 20 living hostages in exchange for 250 Palestinian prisoners and 1,718 detainees from Gaza.
Hamas also returned the remains of 25 out of 28 deceased hostages.
