'Highest regard' for Gaza humanitarian plight needed: Germany

Germany's foreign minister said Saturday that Israel's war against Hamas must be carried out with the greatest care for the humanitarian situation in Gaza, so that the suffering of the population does not foment further hate.

"In the fight against Hamas, highest regard must be placed on the humanitarian situation of innocent women, children and men," foreign minister Annalena Baerbock told journalists after talks in Cairo with her Egyptian counterpart.

Israel has been bombarding Hamas targets in the Gaza Strip in a bid to "destroy" the Islamist group after the Islamists stormed Israel's southern border a week ago, shooting dead civilians in their homes, on the roads and at a rave party.

Some 1,300 people were killed in Hamas' attack on Israeli soil, while Gaza authorities said bombardments by Israel have claimed 2,215 lives.

Israel on Friday also urged around 1.1 million Gazans to evacuate from Gaza City in the north of the overcrowded territory to the south, something that the UN has said was "impossible".

Israel has the "right to defend" itself, said Baerbock, stressing that "terrorism ... must be fought against".

But she warned that Hamas harboured the "calculation" that the suffering of the population in Gaza "will not only be a breeding ground for new terrorism, but also put in danger steps of rapprochement achieved in the last months with Arab neighbours".

Consideration must be given to the plight of civilians in Gaza, she underlined.

"I call on all, whether it be us here or in the Arab world, to differentiate against terrorists and the civilian population," she said.