BERLIN, July 18, 2025 (BSS/AFP) - German Chancellor Friedrich Merz told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in a phone call Friday he hoped for a "speedy ceasefire" in war-torn Gaza, Berlin said.

Merz also "stressed that the urgently needed humanitarian aid must now reach the people in the Gaza Strip in a safe and humane manner" and that the "disarmament of Hamas was imperative", his office said in a statement.