BERLIN (AP) — The German government said Monday that it’s lifting its restrictions on exports of military equipment to Israel, weeks after the ceasefire between Israel and the Hamas militant group.
Chancellor Friedrich Merz said in early August that Berlin wouldn’t authorize any exports of military equipment to Israel that could be used in Gaza “until further notice." That was a response to a decision by the Israeli Cabinet to take over Gaza City.
A spokesperson for Merz, Sebastian Hille, said that the restrictions will be lifted from Nov. 24.
“Since Oct. 10, we have had a ceasefire in Gaza and it has fundamentally stabilized,” Hille told reporters at a regular government news conference. “That is the basis for this decision.”
“We expect everyone to keep to the agreements that were reached — that includes the ceasefire holding, that includes humanitarian aid being provided on a large scale and the process continuing to run in an orderly way, as agreed,” he added.
Hille declined to comment on whether there had been Israeli requests for equipment in the period since the restrictions were imposed, or whether anything had been held back.
Once the restrictions are lifted, Germany will examine military exports on a case-by-base basis, as is its standard practice with such exports, he said.
Merz's decision in August was a remarkable move by a country that is a particularly staunch ally of Israel. The Israeli foreign minister welcomed its lifting Monday in a post on social network X.
“I call on other governments to adopt similar decisions, following Germany,” Gideon Saar wrote.
German Chancellor Friedrich Merz arrives for the cabinet meeting at the Chancellery in Berlin, Germany, Wednesday, Nov. 12, 2025. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan’s president on Saturday warned neighboring Afghanistan’s Taliban government that it had “ crossed a red line ” by launching drone attacks on civilian areas in Pakistan and said the administration in Kabul has brought “grave consequences upon itself.”
The statement by Asif Ali Zardari was the latest in what has become the deadliest fighting yet between the two neighbors. The cross-border clashes, which erupted late last month, have shown no signs of abating despite efforts by China and Turkey to broker a ceasefire.
Pakistan said its forces intercepted the drones launched on Friday but that falling debris injured two children in the city of Quetta and two people elsewhere in the country.
On Friday, the Afghan Taliban government accused Pakistan of conducting airstrikes in Kabul, the country's capital, and other areas in eastern Afghanistan, saying at least six civilians were killed and 15 other were injured.
Hours later, Kabul claimed its air force responded by targeting military installations near Islamabad, Pakistan's capital, and in northwestern Pakistan.
Pakistan denied targeting civilians, saying its operations are focused on Pakistani Taliban militants and their support networks. Islamabad has referred to the conflict as an "open war” — adding to concerns among the international community about regional stability as the U.S.-Israeli war with Iran has engulfed the Middle East and beyond.
Afghan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said that Pakistani aircraft also struck fuel depots belonging to the private airline Kam Air near the airport in the southern city of Kandahar, which he said supplies civilian and U.N. flights.
Pakistan accuses the Afghan Taliban government of harboring Pakistani militant groups — mainly the Pakistani Taliban — that cross the porous volatile border between the two countries to stage attacks against Pakistani forces and also of allying with its archrival, India. Kabul denies harboring militant groups.
On Friday, a roadside bomb targeting Pakistani police killed seven officers in the northwestern district of Lakki Mawat.
Zardari slammed the government in Kabul.
“While the Afghan terrorist regime seeks negotiations with our friendly countries, it crossed a red line by attempting to target our civilians," he said.
Afghanistan’s Defense Ministry said Saturday on X that its defense forces along the border in the eastern provinces of Kunar and Nangarhar captured a Pakistani post and killed 14 Pakistani soldiers. In Islamabad, Pakistan’s Information Ministry said the claim was baseless.
Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s spokesman, Mosharraf Zaidi, said the “Afghan Taliban are spending more time weaving fantasies" than they are getting rid of "terrorist organizations enjoying Afghan Taliban regime hospitality.”
He said in a post on X that propaganda would not force Pakistan to end its counterterrorism operations. “Only the end of terrorism from Afghan soil to Pakistan will,” he said
China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi on Friday urged for a peaceful resolution of the Afghanistan-Pakistan dispute, warning the use of force worsens tensions and threatens regional stability. His remarks were reported Saturday by China’s official Xinhua News Agency, which said Wang had spoken with Afghan Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.
Wang said China’s special envoy is shuttling between the two countries in an effort to promote restraint and encourage a ceasefire. Muttaqi said Afghanistan seeks regional peace and does not want a military conflict, adding that dialogue remains the only solution and urging China to play a greater role.
A Qatari-mediated ceasefire in October briefly reduced tensions, but subsequent talks in Turkey failed to produce a lasting agreement.
Qahar reported from Kabul, Afghanistan. Associated Press writer Kanis Leung in Hong Kong contributed to this report.
Residents and Taliban police gather the remains of a projectile at the site of a strike in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Barackatullah Popal)
People attend the funeral prayers of police officers, killed in the roadside bomb explosion, outskirts of Lakki Marwat, a district in northwest Pakistan, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/G.A. Marwat)
Residents inspect the site of a strike in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Barackatullah Popal)
