Germany will halt the export of military equipment to Israel that could be used in the Gaza Strip, Chancellor Friedrich Merz said Friday, sparking an angry response from Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Berlin's move, in response reaction to an Israeli plan to take control of Gaza City, marks a drastic change of course for Germany, long one of Israel's staunchest international allies.

Merz expressed "deep concern" at the suffering of Gaza's civilians.

It was "increasingly unclear", he said, how the latest Israeli military plan would help achieve the aims of disarming Hamas and freeing the remaining Israeli hostages.

"Under these circumstances, the German government will not authorise any exports of military equipment that could be used in the Gaza Strip until further notice," he said in a statement.

Netanyahu spoke to Merz later Friday to express his "disappointment", said a statement from the prime minister's office.

"Instead of supporting Israel's just war against Hamas, which carried out the most horrific attack against the Jewish people since the Holocaust,........

© Al Monitor