Foreign Minister Wadephul has traveled to Israel. It is his first visit to the region since the start of the US and Israeli attacks on Iran.
Nine people were killed and more than 50 were injured in a residential neighborhood of Beit Shemesh in Jerusalem. Several homes were almost completely destroyed. To date, 13 people have died in Israel as a result of rocket attacks.
Together with his Israeli counterpart, Gideon Saar, German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul visited the site near Jerusalem where an Iranian missile struck last week.
Standing among the rubble, Wadephul was deeply moved as two women recounted how their loved ones had died in the attack. In Beit Shemesh, a woman named Smadar reported a ballistic missile attack that destroyed her home and completely destroyed a shelter. She managed to save her children, but her husband was killed in the attack. She described the moments of the attack: “Everything fell on us. It was dark, we couldn’t breathe.” The attack not only destroyed her home, but also all her memories. “Everything is gone, the memories, the photos, everything is burned.”
A total of 13 people have died in Israel so far as a result of the ongoing rocket attacks, mostly from Iran. The Israeli Health Ministry also reported that more than 2.300 people have been treated in hospitals. This reportedly includes not only those injured by the rocket attacks, but also many people injured on the way to shelters. There are also reports of people being treated for anxiety caused by the attacks.
Travel with increased security measures
Wadephul is the first representative of a Western government to visit the war-torn region since Israel and the United States attacked Iran ten days ago. It is a trip with heightened security precautions due to the ongoing rocket and drone attacks on Israel.
The German delegation did not fly on a regular government plane, but on an Airbus A400M, the powerful transport aircraft of the German Armed Forces.
Questions about the duration of the war
At the Israeli Foreign Ministry in Jerusalem, the ministers discussed the situation in the region. One of Wadephul's objectives is thought to be to determine how long Israel and the United States intend to continue their attacks on Iran and how they envision the future after the war ends.
In principle, the German government justified the attacks against the Iranian regime. However, Chancellor Friedrich Merz recently declared: "An endless war is not in our interest."/DW/
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