The German defence minister says Berlin is considering similar steps that the U.S. took to withhold further arms should Israeli troops begin a large-scale push into the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah.

“This is currently being discussed,” Boris Pistorius said on Friday.

However, he said the responsibility lies with the Chancellery and the Foreign Office.

Israeli operations in Rafah are so far mainly limited to the east of the city, where an evacuation order was issued at the start of the week.

The U.S. is Israel’s main backer, but President Joe Biden threatened to restrict supplies further if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu goes ahead with a major offensive.

Israel says the Rafah operation is aimed at eliminating the Palestinian extremist organisation Hamas.

At the same time, Biden said that the U.S. would continue to offer its full support to Israel in defending against attacks.

Following a meeting with UN Secretary-General António Guterres earlier on Wednesday, Mr Pistorius called for a further escalation of the Gaza war to be prevented.

They both agreed that everything must be done to alleviate or end the humanitarian misery of the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip.

Mr Pistorius said that it was crucial for Israel to “continue to focus on de-escalation” in the conflict. 

(dpa/NAN)