Israeli anti-air defence system interceptor flies through the sky, after missiles were launched towards Israel from Iran, following strikes by Israel and the U.S. on Iran, as seen from Ashkelon, Israel, on March 1, 2026.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz heads to Israel on Saturday (December 6, 2025) for his first visit since taking office, aiming to reaffirm traditionally solid ties that were shaken during the Gaza war.

Mr. Merz, after stopping in Jordan for talks with King Abdullah II, is set to fly on to Israel in the evening before meeting Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem on Sunday.

The German leader is also expected to visit the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial.

Given the dark legacy of Nazi Germany’s industrial-scale murder of Jews, German leaders have long seen unflinching support for Israel as a bedrock of the country’s foreign policy.

In a speech in September celebrating the reopening of Munich’s synagogue, which was severely damaged by the Nazis, Mr. Merz visibly struggled to hold back tears, his voice breaking.

But Israeli-German ties were shaken during the Gaza war set off by the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel, the deadliest in the country’s history.

Mr. Merz, who took power in May this year, has repeatedly criticised Israel’s relentless military campaign, which has killed tens of thousands of Palestinians.

In August, he also moved to restrict sales of weapons for use in Gaza.

Since a fragile U.S.-backed ceasefire and hostage deal ended full-scale fighting, Germany has lifted those export restrictions.

Despite the ceasefire deal, more than 350 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, according to local health authorities, as well as three Israeli soldiers.

The UN also warns that Israel is still not allowing enough aid into Gaza.

Before leaving Berlin on Saturday morning, Mr. Merz spoke with Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmud Abbas.

A spokesman said Merz underscored German support for a two-state solution but urged Abbas to push through “urgently necessary reforms” of the PA in order to play a “constructive role” in the postwar order.

‘Signal of support’

After the recent strains, Israel expects a “signal of continued support” from Mr. Merz, said Michael Rimmel, head of the Jerusalem office of the Konrad Adenauer Foundation, affiliated with Mr. Merz’s centre-right Christian Democrats (CDU).

German-Israeli relations have been strained over the past two years but remain “better than many people think”, Rimmel told AFP.

But he said Berlin has little discernible influence on Mr. Netanyahu’s government, which has pushed on with West Bank settlements despite protests from Berlin and elsewhere, and dismissed calls for a two-state solution.

“Certainly, President Trump and the Americans have greater influence,” said Rimmel, noting that the US president was able to pressure Mr. Netanyahu into the Gaza ceasefire.

Gil Shohat, head of the Tel Aviv office of the Rosa Luxemburg Foundation, which is affiliated with Germany’s far-left Die Linke party, sharply criticised Mr. Merz for making the trip.

Mr. Shohat argued that Mr. Merz is effectively offering political support to Mr. Netanyahu and Israel’s hard-right government.

“Netanyahu is a wanted war criminal and is under suspicion of corruption,” said Mr. Shohat. “Going there now and legitimising him is a fatal sign of normalisation in a situation that must not be normalised.”

Defence deals

Although Mr. Merz’s public criticism of Israel was unusual for a German leader, it was measured by international standards.

Mr. Merz recently offered Israel full-throated support as European broadcasters weighed whether to exclude the country from the annual Eurovision Song Contest, calling such a possibility “scandalous”.

The decision to include Israel in the upcoming Eurovision event, reached on Thursday, was warmly welcomed in Berlin even as it prompted boycotts from Spain, the Netherlands and elsewhere.

Still, despite the close ties, German officials have said there are currently no plans to invite Mr. Netanyahu — who faces an international arrest warrant for war crimes in Gaza from the International Criminal Court (ICC) —to Berlin.

Mr. Merz, not long after his party’s election victory in February, vowed to invite the Israeli leader and told him in a phone call that he would not be arrested.

Any tensions in German-Israeli relations have also not disrupted key military ties. Germany last week put into operation the first phase of the Israeli-made Arrow missile defence shield.

The $4.5 billion deal was reportedly the largest arms export agreement in Israeli history, and Berlin has also turned to Israeli firms for help in drone defence.

The German-Israeli Society — which said Mr. Merz’s visit must aim to “repair the damaged German-Israeli relations” — also pointed out that defence ties “have long since reversed”.

“Israel is no longer dependent on German technology, but rather German defence depends on Israeli technology.”

Published – December 06, 2025 10:14 pm IST

German Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul looks on as he waits to meet Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba at the Prime Minister’s office in Tokyo, Japan, on August 18, 2025.
| Photo Credit: Reuters

Representative image.© Hockey India

Their campaign back on track after a jittery start, India will look to continue the winning momentum when they take on Paris Olympics silver medallist Germany in their next men’s FIH Pro League match here on Tuesday. India had a woeful start to their home leg matches of the Pro League, losing 1-3 to Spain in their opener. But the hosts bounced back strongly to tame Spain 2-0 in the return match on Sunday. With three points from two games, India are currently sitting in eighth place in the standings and will be desperate to climb up the table.

After a relatively off day on Saturday, the Indians looked a completely different side on Sunday, dominating for most part of the match and scoring two field goals through Mandeep Singh (32nd minute) and Dilpreet Singh (39th) to pocket all three points.

While the strikers shone bright in the second game, India’s chief coach Craig Fulton would be a bit concerned about penalty corner conversions.

Despite winning seven penalty corners across their two games, India failed to convert a single chance.

In the absence of India captain Harmanpreet Singh, who was rested for the second match, Hockey India League star performer Jugraj Singh cut a sorry figure from set pieces.

The forwardline comprising Dilpreet , Mandeep and Sukhjeet Singh have each netted a goal for India so far in the tournament and will be looking to add to their tally against Germany.

The Indian defence produced a much-better display in the second game, and were able to absorb pressure from the Spanish strikers.

Germany, who will be playing their first match of the India leg, are placed just above India in seventh place with four points from as many games and will be determined to turn their fortunes around.

Although Germany have won only one match in the tournament so far, their attack has been spearheaded by Raphael Hartkopf, Gonzalo Peillat, and Thies Prinz, who have scored two goals each.

Germany will aim to turn around their struggling campaign and secure vital points.

The two sides last met during a two-match Test series in New Delhi in October 2024, where Germany won the first game 2-0, but India bounced back in the second with a thrilling 5-3 victory.

However, Germany went on to claim the series through a shootout win.

Speaking on the upcoming matches, Harmanpreet said, “We are looking forward to our games against Germany. They are a quality team, and we know we need to bring our best performance to the field.

“After the positive result against Spain, our confidence is high, but we know there’s still work to be done. One of our main focuses is improving our penalty corner conversion, as it’s crucial to make the most of those opportunities in tight matches.” “The team is motivated and ready to build on the momentum from our last game. We’ve learned from both the matches, and we’re determined to bring our best performance to the field,” he added. 

Berlin:

A knife attacker in Germany killed a two-year-old child and a man and seriously wounded two other people on Wednesday, said police, who arrested an Afghan suspect at the scene.

It is the latest in a series of deadly knife attacks to have shaken Germany in recent months, fuelling concerns over public safety.

The stabbings happened in a public park in the centre of the Bavarian city of Aschaffenburg at around 11:45 am (1045 GMT), police said.

The attacker targeted a group of children from a daycare centre who were in the park, according to German media.

“Two people were fatally injured,” police said, while another two were seriously hurt and receiving treatment in hospital.

The suspect, a 28-year-old man from Afghanistan, was arrested “in the immediate vicinity of the crime scene”, police added, without indicating a motive.

German media reported that the man was said to have had psychological issues for which he had received treatment. The suspect lived in an asylum centre in the area, news outlet Der Spiegel reported.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser said she was “deeply shocked” by the attack.

“The investigation will clarify the background to this terrible act of violence,” she said in a statement.

Following the attack police said there were “no indications of other suspects” and no further danger to the public.

A second person who was held by police was being treated as a witness.

Authorities had cordoned off the park in Aschaffenburg, around 36 kilometres (22 miles) southeast of Frankfurt in the west of Germany.

Police said train traffic around the scene had been suspended, with services delayed or diverted.

The suspect had tried to flee across the train tracks, the Sueddeutsche Zeitung newspaper reported.

– Shaken by stabbings –

Germany has been rocked by a spate of high-profile attacks, including the death of a policeman in June after he intervened in a knife attack at an anti-Islam rally in the city of Mannheim.

A man from Afghanistan was arrested on suspicion of carrying out the stabbing.

In August, three people were killed and eight wounded in a stabbing spree at a street festival in the western city of Solingen.

The attack was claimed by the Islamic State group, and police arrested a Syrian suspect.

The presumed Islamist motive behind the stabbing in Solingen and the suspect’s status as a migrant who was facing deportation fuelled a bitter debate over immigration.

The government responded to the incident by tightening controls on knives, limiting benefits for asylum seekers and handing the security services new powers of investigation.

Wednesday’s attack in Aschaffenburg comes as Germany prepares for national elections on February 23.

The conservative CDU/CSU alliance currently leads in the polls on around 30 percent, with the far-right, anti-immigrant Alternative for Germany (AfD) in second with 20 percent.

Both parties have promised to crack down on illegal immigration.

The conservatives have also pledged a “de facto” ban on new asylum requests at the border.

In response to the latest attack, the co-leader of the AfD Alice Weidel posted a message on X urging “remigration now!” — using a term that the far right have adopted to call for the mass deportation of migrants.

Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s centre-left Social Democrats sit third in the polls with around 16 percent of support.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Berlin:

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said Saturday that the principle of sovereign borders must be protected, days after US President-elect Donald Trump refused to rule out force to seize Greenland.

Speaking to a congress of his Social Democrat party ahead of a general election next month, Scholz said: “The principle of the inviolability of borders applies to every country, regardless of whether it’s in the East or the West,” referring also to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

“This is a principle that every state must abide by, whether it’s a small state or a big and powerful one,” he said.

“No country is the backyard of another, no country should have to fear its bigger neighbours. That is a central part of what we call Western values.”

Trump sparked alarm bells on Tuesday when he refused to rule out military intervention over the Panama Canal and Greenland, both of which he has said he wants the United States to control.

That prompted Scholz to tell a hastily called press conference on Wednesday that Trump had caused “notable incomprehension” among EU leaders.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Protestors carry signs outside the Parliament of Georgia building after former soccer player Mikheil Kavelashvili was formally inaugurated as president of Georgia, in Tbilisi on December 29, 2024
| Photo Credit: AFP

The Foreign Ministers of Germany, France and Poland on Tuesday (December 31, 2024) expressed concern about “the political crisis” in Georgia, two days after former soccer player Mikheil Kavelashvili was formally inaugurated as President of the South Caucasus nation, cementing the ruling party’s grip in what the opposition calls a blow to the country’s European Union aspirations and a victory for former imperial ruler Russia.

“We strongly condemn last week’s violence against peaceful protesters, media and opposition leaders and recall Georgian authorities’ responsibility to respect human rights and protect fundamental freedoms, including the freedom to assembly and media freedom,” the three Ministers wrote in a joint statement.

In reaction to the Russia-friendly course of the ruling Georgian Dream party, the three countries said they would “implement the EU decision on ending visa-free travel for Georgian diplomatic and service passport holders and consider additional measures on EU and national level.”

They also stressed that “the political course of repression and democratic backsliding by the Georgian Dream has in reaction led to a downgrading of our relationship at European and national level and a reduction of our assistance to and cooperation with Georgia’s authorities.”

The Georgian Dream party retained control of Parliament in the South Caucasus nation in the October 26 election that the opposition alleges was rigged with Moscow’s help. The party has vowed to continue pushing toward accession to the European Union but also wants to “reset” ties with Russia.

Georgia’s outgoing president and main pro-Western parties have boycotted the post-election parliamentary sessions and demanded a rerun of the ballot.

Critics have accused the Georgian Dream — established by Bidzina Ivanishvili, a shadowy billionaire who made his fortune in Russia — of becoming increasingly authoritarian and tilted toward Moscow, accusations the ruling party has denied. The party recently pushed through laws similar to those used by the Kremlin to crack down on freedom of speech and LGBTQ+ rights.

Georgian Dream’s decision last month to suspend talks on their country’s bid to join the EU added to the opposition’s outrage and galvanized protests.

“We reiterate our determination to support the democratic and European aspirations of the Georgian people,” Germany, France and Poland stressed in their joint statement.

Thousands of demonstrators have converged on the parliament building for weeks every night after the government announced the suspension of EU accession talks on November 28.

Riot police used water cannons and tear gas almost daily to disperse and beat scores of protesters, some of whom threw fireworks at police officers and built barricades on the capital’s central boulevard. Hundreds were detained and over 100 were treated for injuries.

Several journalists, who were beaten by police, accused authorities of using thugs to deter people from attending anti-government rallies, a charge the Georgian Dream party denies. The crackdown has drawn strong condemnation from the United States and EU officials.

Berlin:

U.S. billionaire Elon Musk’s support for Germany’s far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD) is a “logical and systematic” play for a weak Europe that will not be able to regulate as strongly, Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck said in his New Year’s address.

The calls by Musk are not made out of ignorance, said Habeck, who is the chancellor candidate for the Greens party in German national elections due in February.

“It is logical and systematic. Musk is strengthening those who are weakening Europe. A weak Europe is in the interest of those for whom regulation is an inappropriate limitation of their power,” added Habeck.

The German government on Monday accused Musk, who owns social media platform X and is CEO of Tesla and SpaceX, of trying to influence the upcoming election with a guest opinion piece for the Welt am Sonntag newspaper.

Musk, the world’s richest person, spent more than $250 million to help Trump get elected and has been tasked by Trump to prune the federal budget as a special adviser.

Musk endorsed the AfD as Germany’s last hope in the piece that prompted the commentary editor to resign in protest, praising the anti-establishment, anti-immigrant party’s approach to regulation, taxes and market deregulation.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Magdeburg:

A spontaneous memorial created by grieving families and local residents at a church overlooking Magdeburg’s Christmas market evolved during Saturday into something more politically charged.

The changing tone at the site of a car-ramming attack on Friday in which five people were killed and more than 200 injured reflected political tensions in a country racked by arguments over immigration and over the surging popularity of the far-right Alternative for Germany (AfD).

Authorities arrested a Saudi man with a history of anti-Islamic rhetoric but said the motives for the attack were not yet known.

At first, as people laid flowers outside the church in the early morning, there were just expressions of sorrow and grief.

Andrea Reis, 57, arrived with her daughter Julia, 34, and reflected on a narrow escape.

It was only because her daughter wanted them to keep walking round the market rather than stop to eat that they were not in the path of the car that ploughed through the market, she said.

“It was the terrible sounds, children calling ‘mama, papa,’, ‘help me’ – they’re going round in my head now,” Reis said, a tear trickling down her cheek.

Another young woman sobbed, bent double with grief as an older couple embraced her.

Initially, the attack drew comparisons on social media to an Islamist-influenced immigrant’s deadly attack on a Berlin Christmas market in 2016.

Later it emerged that the suspect, a psychiatrist who had lived in Germany for 18 years, had criticised Islam and expressed sympathy for the far right in past social media posts. This prompted damage control by the far right.

Martin Sellner, an Austrian popular with Germany’s far-right, posted on social media that the suspect’s motives “seemed to have been complex”, adding that the suspect “hated Islam, but he hated the Germans more”.

As the day passed, politicians, including Chancellor Olaf Scholz, came to lay flowers at the spontaneous memorial.

By the time Tino Chrupalla, the AfD’s co-leader, came, the crowd was filled with young people who had responded from all round east Germany to calls by the party’s youth wing on social media to attend a vigil.

The party, particularly strong in eastern Germany, came first or second in three regional votes this autumn, and hopes for more success in a national election in February.

Many of the gathered supporters wore symbols associated with neopaganism and other mystical movements associated with the far right.

One young man, who said he was from the AfD’s youth wing, wore an amulet depicting the hammer of the Norse god Thor.

“I’m a believer in the old gods,” he said, declining to give his name.

Interior Minister Nancy Faeser expressed concern that the attack could be exploited by the far right, but said little could be done to prevent seemingly coordinated gatherings.

“We have freedom of assembly in this country,” she said, touring the scene of the attack. “We have to do everything possible to make sure the attack isn’t misused by either side.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)