Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today, during an official ceremony marking the second anniversary of the "Hamas" attacks on October 7, 2023, announced that for his country "the war is not over", and added that he is "determined to achieve the return of all hostages", reported Agence France-Presse, BTA reported.
"The war is not over yet, but one thing is clear – anyone who raises a hand against us should know that they will pay a very high price," Netanyahu stressed. "Israel is on the front line in the confrontation between barbarism and civilization," he added at the ceremony at the Mount Herzl cemetery.
So far, the bodies of only nine of the 28 dead hostages to be handed over by Hamas have been returned.
The Israeli government expects Germany to lift its partial suspension of arms exports to Israel and travel bans to certain areas of the country following the agreed ceasefire in the Gaza Strip, DPA reported earlier today.
Now that there is no longer a war, "we expect the German government to lift these restrictions," Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharen Haskel told reporters during a visit to Berlin yesterday.
She supports Germany's participation in the ongoing peace process in the Gaza Strip. "We consider the German government a reliable participant (in the peace process - ed.)", Haskell said, adding that she would not mind Germany's inclusion in a peacekeeping force in the enclave.
Asked whether the painful historical legacy could be a cause for concern, she replied "We believe you", recalling Germany's demonstrations of solidarity with Israel after the attack by the radical Palestinian group "Hamas" on Israeli territory on October 7, 2023, which began the war in the Gaza Strip.
On August 8 this year, Chancellor Friedrich Merz ordered a temporary suspension of German exports to Israel of weapons that would be used in the conflict in Gaza. Merz's justification was the increasing aggression by the Israeli army, DPA recalls.