BERLIN
\nGermany wants to organize an international conference with Egypt for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Friday, as Israel and Hamas edged closer to ending hostilities.
\nThe main goal of this conference \u201cshould be to address the most urgent needs, such as rebuilding water and energy supplies and medical care,\u201d Merz said in a statement.
\nA spokeswoman for the German Development Ministry said on Friday that Berlin could quickly provide 850 temporary accommodation units for Gaza.
\n\u201cFifty of them are in Ramallah and can quickly be brought to Gaza so that people can be provided with urgently needed shelter,\u201d she said, adding that 90 to 92 percent of Gaza\u2019s buildings have been badly damaged or destroyed.
\nOn Friday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu\u2019s office said the government had \u201capproved the framework\u201d of a hostage release deal with Hamas.
\nMerz said the deal must be \u201cimplemented swiftly\u201d and that \u201cthe hostages, including German nationals, must finally return to their families.\u201d
\n\u201cHumanitarian aid must quickly reach the people in Gaza,\u201d he added.
\nMerz said Germany would provide an additional \u20ac29 million ($33.6 million) in humanitarian aid and would also help in \u201csupporting the medical and psychological care of the released hostages.\u201d
\nNetanyahu said on Friday that 48 hostages were still in Gaza, 20 of them still alive and 28 dead.
\nOne of the dead is understood to be an Israeli soldier killed in 2014 whose remains are being held by Hamas.
\nFour of those still alive are reported to be German nationals.
\nGaza\u2019s civil defense agency said on Friday that Israeli forces had begun pulling back from parts of the territory, particularly in Gaza City and Khan Younis.
\n\u201cIsraeli forces have withdrawn from several areas in Gaza City,\u201d said Mohammed Al-Mughayyir, a senior official with the agency.
\nHe added that Israeli military vehicles had also pulled out from sections of the southern city of Khan Younis.
\nPalestinians have expressed relief that the war may end, tempered with concern about the future and lingering pain from the staggering death and destruction.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BERLIN Germany wants to organize an international conference with Egypt for the reconstruction of the Gaza Strip, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said on Friday, as Israel and Hamas edged closer to ending hostilities. The main goal of this conference \u201cshould be to address the most urgent needs, such as rebuilding water and energy supplies and medical […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":508138,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-508121","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n