Germany on Friday said rockets fired by Hamas at Israel amount to "terrorist attacks" and warned it would not tolerate "anti-Semitic" demonstrations on its own soil as the conflict intensified in the Middle East.
āThese are terrorist attacks that have only one goal: to kill people indiscriminately and arbitrarily and to spread fear,ā Chancellor Angela Merkelās spokesman Steffen Seibert told a government press conference.
Merkelās government stressed āIsraelās right to self-defence against these attacksā, he added.
Palestinian militants have launched more than 1,800 rockets since Monday, according to Israelās army, which has launched hundreds of air strikes on Hamas and other Islamist groups in the crowded coastal enclave of Gaza.
The most intense hostilities in seven years were triggered by weekend unrest at Jerusalemās Al-Aqsa mosque compound, which is sacred to both Muslims and Jews.
Germany has seen scattered demonstrations this week over the escalating conflict, with protesters shouting anti-Semitic slogans and burning Israeli flags.