German Foreign Minister Visits Gaza

Germany’s foreign minister has paid a rare visit to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, calling on Israel to ease a blockade on the territory and urging Hamas to make sure no more rockets are fired into Israel

German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier address the media during a statement at the Foreign Ministry in Berlin, Germany, Friday, July 11, 2014. AP Photo/Michael Sohn

GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip—Germany’s foreign minister has paid a rare visit to the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, calling on Israel to ease a blockade on the territory and urging Hamas to make sure no more rockets are fired into Israel.

Frank-Walter Steinmeier is the latest in a series of Western diplomats to tour Gaza since a 50-day war with Israel last summer. While international donors have pledged billions of dollars in aid, little reconstruction has taken place on the estimated 18,000 homes destroyed in the fighting.