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Germany Halts Arms Exports That Israel Can Use in Gaza

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz makes a statement to journalists following a meeting of the security Cabinet of the German government at the Chancellery in Berlin on July 28, 2025. (AFP)
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz makes a statement to journalists following a meeting of the security Cabinet of the German government at the Chancellery in Berlin on July 28, 2025. (AFP)
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Germany Halts Arms Exports That Israel Can Use in Gaza

German Chancellor Friedrich Merz makes a statement to journalists following a meeting of the security Cabinet of the German government at the Chancellery in Berlin on July 28, 2025. (AFP)
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz makes a statement to journalists following a meeting of the security Cabinet of the German government at the Chancellery in Berlin on July 28, 2025. (AFP)

Germany is to suspend exports of weaponry that could be used in the Gaza Strip because of Israel's plan to expand its operations there - the first time united Germany has acknowledged denying military support to its long-time ally. 

Chancellor Friedrich Merz's sudden about-turn on Friday followed mounting pressure from the public and his junior coalition partner over the manmade humanitarian crisis in Gaza, where Israel has severely restricted supplies of food and water. 

In a statement, Merz acknowledged Israel's right to disarm Hamas and seek the release of Israeli hostages, but said the Israeli decision "makes it increasingly difficult to see how these goals can be achieved". 

Germany is Israel's second biggest weapons supplier after the US, and has long been one of its staunchest supporters, principally because of historical guilt for the Nazi Holocaust - a policy known as the "Staatsraison". 

But an opinion poll in June indicated that 73% of Germans want tighter controls on arms exports, including 30% who favored a total ban. 

"This is the right decision. The humanitarian suffering in Gaza is unbearable," said vice chancellor and finance minister Lars Klingbeil of the Social Democrats, who govern alongside Merz's conservatives. 

Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu slammed the decision, saying the move would bolster Palestinian group Hamas.  

"Instead of supporting Israel's just war against Hamas, which carried out the most horrific attack against the Jewish people since the Holocaust, Germany is rewarding Hamas terrorism by embargoing arms to Israel," said a statement from Netanyahu's office, which added that the Israeli premier expressed his "disappointment" in a call with Merz. 

GERMANY'S REVERSAL A BLOW FOR ISRAEL 

"Politically and morally, this is certainly a hard blow for Netanyahu and his policies," said Meron Mendel, the director of the Anne Frank Education Center in Frankfurt. 

According to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, Germany provided 30% of Israel's major arms imports in 2019-2023, primarily naval equipment including Sa’ar 6-class frigates (MEKO A-100 Light Frigates), which have been used in the Gaza war. 

Merz said the release of hostages and ceasefire negotiations were Germany's top priorities, along with civilian suffering. He also urged the Israeli government not to take any further steps towards annexing parts of the West Bank. 

Far-right members of Netanyahu's coalition have been pushing for a total takeover of Gaza, though the military has warned this could jeopardize the lives of surviving hostages. 

Germany's parliament reported in June that export licenses for 485 million euros ($564 million) of military equipment for Israel had been granted between the day of the Hamas attack that triggered the Gaza war, October 7, 2023, and May 13, 2025. 

In the months after the Hamas attack, Germany increased its arms exports to Israel roughly tenfold. Human rights groups launched legal challenges, saying the weapons could be used in the Gaza war, but none has succeeded so far. 

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World

USS Gerald R. Ford Aircraft Carrier Leaves Middle East

The USS Gerald R. Ford in the waters of the Eastern Mediterranean, Oct. 11, 2023. (Jacob Mattingly/US Department of Defense/AFP)
The USS Gerald R. Ford in the waters of the Eastern Mediterranean, Oct. 11, 2023. (Jacob Mattingly/US Department of Defense/AFP)
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USS Gerald R. Ford Aircraft Carrier Leaves Middle East

The USS Gerald R. Ford in the waters of the Eastern Mediterranean, Oct. 11, 2023. (Jacob Mattingly/US Department of Defense/AFP)
The USS Gerald R. Ford in the waters of the Eastern Mediterranean, Oct. 11, 2023. (Jacob Mattingly/US Department of Defense/AFP)

The USS Gerald R. Ford aircraft carrier has left the Middle East after taking part in operations against Iran, a US official said Friday, leaving two of the massive American warships in the region.

The Ford is currently in the US European Command area of responsibility, according to the official, who put the number of remaining US Navy ships in the Middle East at 20, including the USS Abraham Lincoln and USS George H.W. Bush aircraft carriers.

The Ford has been at sea for more than 10 months -- a deployment that has already seen it take part in US operations in the Caribbean, where Washington's forces have carried out strikes on alleged drug-smuggling boats, interdicted sanctioned tankers and seized Venezuelan leader Nicolas Maduro.

A fire broke out in a laundry room aboard the carrier on March 12, injuring two sailors and causing major damage to some 100 beds, according to the US military.

The carrier has also reportedly suffered significant problems with its toilet system while at sea, with US media reporting clogs and long lines for restrooms on the ship.

The United States and Iran are currently in an open-ended ceasefire, but the conflict remains unresolved, with Tehran blocking the vital Strait of Hormuz waterway and Washington's forces blockading Iranian ports.

World

US Treasury Warns Shippers Not to Pay Hormuz Tolls, Even in Form of Charity

An Emirati patrol boat, left, is near a tanker anchored in the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from a coastal road near Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP)
An Emirati patrol boat, left, is near a tanker anchored in the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from a coastal road near Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP)
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US Treasury Warns Shippers Not to Pay Hormuz Tolls, Even in Form of Charity

An Emirati patrol boat, left, is near a tanker anchored in the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from a coastal road near Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP)
An Emirati patrol boat, left, is near a tanker anchored in the Gulf of Oman near the Strait of Hormuz, as seen from a coastal road near Khor Fakkan, United Arab Emirates, Friday, May 1, 2026. (AP)

Any shippers paying tolls to Iran for passage through the Strait of Hormuz, including charitable donations to organizations such as the Iranian Red Crescent Society, are at risk of punitive sanctions, the US Treasury warned on Friday.

The Strait of Hormuz is one of the world’s most strategically vital maritime routes, with about 20% of the world’s ‌seaborne crude ‌oil and liquefied natural gas ‌flows passing ⁠through it.

Tehran has ⁠proposed fees or tolls on vessels passing through the Strait, as part of proposals to end the war with Israel and the United States.

The advisory, from Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control, said ⁠the US is aware of Iranian ‌threats to ‌shipping and demands for payments to receive safe passage ‌through the Strait.

The warning came as Iran ‌sent its latest proposal for negotiations with the US to Pakistani mediators, a move that could improve prospects for breaking an impasse in ‌efforts to end the Iran war.

OFAC said demands may include several ⁠payment ⁠options, including fiat currency, digital assets, offsets, informal swaps, or other in-kind payments, such as nominally charitable donations made to the Iranian Red Crescent Society, Bonyad Mostazafan, or Iranian embassy accounts.

"OFAC is issuing this alert to warn US and non-US persons about the sanctions risks of making these payments to, or soliciting guarantees from, the Iranian regime for safe passage," it said. "These risks exist regardless of payment method."

World

NATO and China: A Slow Alliance Confronts a Fast-Rising Rival

People visit the BYD booth at the Beijing Auto Show in Beijing on April 30, 2026. (Photo by Adek BERRY / AFP)
People visit the BYD booth at the Beijing Auto Show in Beijing on April 30, 2026. (Photo by Adek BERRY / AFP)
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NATO and China: A Slow Alliance Confronts a Fast-Rising Rival

People visit the BYD booth at the Beijing Auto Show in Beijing on April 30, 2026. (Photo by Adek BERRY / AFP)
People visit the BYD booth at the Beijing Auto Show in Beijing on April 30, 2026. (Photo by Adek BERRY / AFP)

NATO was established in 1949 to provide collective defense against the Soviet Union, based on the principle that an attack on one member is an attack on all. At the time, US President Harry Truman also sought to anchor an American presence in war-ravaged Europe to ensure security and prevent a strategic vacuum.

The collapse of the Soviet Union, along with the socialist bloc, brought the Cold War to an end and forced NATO to adapt. The alliance expanded its operations beyond Europe, intervening in the Balkans during the Bosnia and Kosovo wars, then in Afghanistan after the September 11, 2001 attacks in the United States. It also undertook maritime missions to combat piracy, including off the Horn of Africa, alongside intelligence-sharing and counterterrorism cooperation.

NATO has since built partnerships with countries beyond its traditional scope and broadened its definition of threats to include cybersecurity, hybrid warfare, and energy security, as well as, more recently, the challenge posed by China.

In sum, NATO has evolved from a purely European defensive alliance into a broader global security actor, largely driven by the United States, while still maintaining a central focus on deterring threats within Europe.

In recent years, the Brussels-based alliance has expanded its attention toward the Indo-Pacific region for strategic reasons that extend beyond Europe. Chief among these are the interconnected nature of global security, particularly in cyberspace, the need to ensure resilient and unobstructed supply chains, and the rapid spread of advanced technologies that increasingly diminish the importance of geographic boundaries.

FILED - 03 April 2025, Belgium, Brussels: A NATO flag flies in the wind in front of the NATO headquarters in Brussels. Photo: Anna Ross/dpa

China’s Rise

Another key factor is the view of China’s rise as a strategic challenge reshaping the global balance of power. For NATO’s 32 member states, up from 12 at its founding, safeguarding trade routes is a priority, especially maritime corridors in the Indo-Pacific that are critical to the global economy.

These include the Strait of Malacca between Malaysia and Indonesia, the world’s most important shipping lane, linking the Indian Ocean to the South China Sea and carrying roughly 25 percent of global trade annually. It is also a vital artery for oil and energy flows to major Asian economies such as China, Japan, and South Korea.

NATO member states express “strategic concern” over China for several core reasons. First, China is rapidly modernizing its military, particularly in areas such as missile systems, space capabilities, and cyber operations, developments that are shifting the global balance of power.

Second, and closely linked, is China’s economic rise, reflected in initiatives such as the Belt and Road, which provide Beijing with avenues to expand its economic and political influence across Asia, Africa, and Europe. This expansion risks creating dependencies among countries in or near NATO’s strategic periphery.

Concerns are also fueled by growing ties between China and Russia, particularly following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, which could signal coordination between two major powers against the West.

At the same time, an indirect competition is underway over leadership in fields such as artificial intelligence, telecommunications networks, and semiconductors. NATO sees technological superiority as a core component of security.

The alliance has concluded partnership and cooperation agreements with Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand, encompassing joint military exercises, intelligence sharing, and political coordination. However, NATO does not appear to be planning an expansion of membership into the Indo-Pacific, instead favoring flexible partnerships over a permanent military presence.