The speaker of Germany’s lower house of parliament, Julia Kloeckner, made a brief visit on Thursday to the Israeli-controlled part of the Gaza Strip, according to Arab News.
Klöckner spent nearly an hour in the section of Gaza administered by Israeli military forces, according to the German parliament.
“I expressly welcome the fact that Israel has now, for the first time, granted me, a parliamentary observer, access to the Gaza Strip,” she said.
The tour marked the first visit by a German official to the territory since the outbreak of Hamas’s October 2023 assault on Israel that sparked a two-year devastating war.
The parliament speaker noted that it is fundamental for policymakers to gain access to reliable assessments of conditions in Gaza.
However, the visit provided her with only a restricted view of the situation in Gaza.
The @KnessetIL honours President of the Bundestag Julia Klöckner. Good to see our democratic parliaments at work, as @JuliaKloeckner starts her official visit to #Israel. pic.twitter.com/n8Q2alp07K
— Steffen Seibert (@GerAmbTLV) February 11, 2026
In her remarks, Klöckner urged Israel to “continue on this path of openness”, stressing that the yellow line, which marks Israeli military zones inside Gaza, should never become a permanent obstacle.
Germany’s position in the conflict is complex. On the one hand, Berlin has long been one of Israel’s most steadfast supporters.
Yet in recent months, Chancellor Friedrich Merz has sharply criticized the Israeli policy in response to the German public opinion which denounced Israel’s actions in the Palestinian enclave.
Germany also introduced a partial arms embargo on Israel in August, a measure that was lifted in November following the announcement of what has since proven to be a fragile ceasefire.
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