Israeli residents in Berlin rally for cease-fire, diplomatic solutions in Gaza

A group of Israelis demonstrated in Berlin on Friday, urging an end to the war in the Gaza Strip.

Gathering in front of the Foreign Ministry building, the crowd called for a cease-fire. They carried banners, written in English, German, and Hebrew that read "Stop the massacre in Gaza," "Israelis against ethnic cleansing," and "No second Nakba."

The demonstrators also called on the German government to press Israel and make efforts towards a diplomatic solution between Israel and Palestine.

Nimrod Flaschenberg, one of the participants, told Anadolu that the protest was organized to amplify the voices of Israelis advocating for peace.

The demonstrators demand the German government fulfill its commitment to the two-state solution, said Flaschenberg.

Germany supports Israel in this massacre, said Flaschenberg, adding that they want Germany and the whole international community to take a strong stance against the war, stop the war, release the hostages and strive for a diplomatic solution.

Flaschenberg stressed that there is no military solution to this issue.

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas on Oct. 7.

At least 22,600 Palestinians have since been killed and 57,910 others injured, according to Gaza's health authorities, while nearly 1,200 Israelis are believed to have been killed in the Hamas attack.

The onslaught has left Gaza in ruins, with 60% of the enclave's infrastructure damaged or destroyed and nearly 2 million residents displaced amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine.