BERLIN (Reuters) – German Chancellor Olaf Scholz agreed in a phone call on Saturday with Israel’s prime minister that it was important to avoid a wider Middle East war as well as Hezbollah’s intervention in the Israel-Hamas conflict, a spokesperson for the Chancellery said.

“Chancellor Scholz renewed Germany’s full solidarity with the people of Israel in these difficult times and emphasized that Germany stands unwaveringly at Israel’s side,” the spokesperson added in a statement.

Earlier on Saturday, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Berlin was discussing with the United Nations and other partners how to deploy humanitarian aid to Gaza via the Rafah crossing with Egypt, and Berlin is working with Egypt and Israel to find solutions for German citizens stranded there.

Baerbock, who arrived on Saturday morning in Cairo for discussion with her Turkish and Egyptian counterparts, said Israel’s fight against Hamas must be carried out with consideration for the humanitarian situation in Gaza.

“The fight against Hamas must be carried out with the greatest possible consideration for the humanitarian situation … This is a huge dilemma that is difficult to resolve,” she said.

(Reporting by Riham Alkousaa and Alexander Ratz; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise and Mark Potter)

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