The German FM is scheduled to visit Beirut

German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is set to visit Israel on Sunday, marking her fourth trip since the Gaza war began, according to a ministry spokesman.

During her visit, Baerbock will engage in discussions with Israel’s newly appointed Foreign Minister Israel Katz and President Isaac Herzog, as Sebastian Fischer, a foreign ministry spokesman, detailed in a press briefing on Friday.

Additionally, Baerbock plans to meet with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Foreign Minister Riyad al-Maliki. Her itinerary also includes a trip to Egypt for talks with Egyptian Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukry and a visit to Lebanon.

The primary focus of these talks will be the dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza, the ongoing situation in the West Bank, and the increasingly tense Israel-Lebanon border. Efforts to secure the release of more Hamas hostages will also be a key topic of discussion.

Concerns about the potential expansion of the Israel-Hamas conflict have escalated following the assassination of a Hamas leader in Beirut’s suburbs, an act widely attributed to Israel. This event, along with the persistent exchange of fire between the Israeli army and Hezbollah across the border, has heightened the risk of further escalation.

Fischer expressed that this risk of escalation is “very real,” leading Germany to recently advise its citizens to depart from Lebanon as soon as possible.