Several German cities have offered to take in and provide medical treatment for seriously ill or traumatized children from the embattled and devastated Gaza Strip.

However, the cities — Hannover, Dusseldorf, Bonn, Leipzig and Kiel — need the support of the federal government to do so. Federal authorities would have to take over entry procedures, the selection of the children and all coordination of the relief effort.

In a letter to Interior Minister Alexander Dobrindt and Foreign Minister Johann Wadephulof the conservative bloc of the Christian Social Union (CSU) and Christian Democratic Union(CDU) respectively, the mayors of the cities have asked for help.

But the federal government is hesitant. The Foreign Office and the Interior Ministry, the two departments responsible, want to review the situation first.

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A spokesperson for the Interior Ministry said August 6 that support would depend "crucially on the security situation," as well as "the possibility of departure and other factors." This is the reason, he added, why the main focus will remain on "expanding medical assistance locally and in the surrounding region."

According to the spokesperson, the German government does welcome the offer, in principle. It is "a........

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