German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will travel to Israel on Tuesday

German Chancellor Olaf Scholz will travel to Israel on Tuesday, the German DPA news agency and other media reported, as Western nations step up their efforts to avoid an escalation of the Middle East conflict. Scholz is scheduled to depart for Israel following his meeting with Jordan’s King Abdullah in Berlin on Tuesday, DPA reported, and would then travel onwards to Egypt. A government spokesperson declined to comment on the reported travel plans. The German government has rallied around Israel since at least 1,300 people were killed and dozens taken hostage in a mass cross-border infiltration by Hamas militants into Israeli towns and villages near Gaza on 7 October. Israel has responded with its heaviest-ever bombardment of the Gaza Strip, which Hamas authorities say has killed at least 2,750 people, in preparation for an expected ground invasion. Israel’s relentless air strikes have complicated diplomatic efforts to allow foreign passport holders to leave the besieged, densely populated enclave while allowing in aid for Gaza via the Rafah border crossing with Egypt. Last week, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock held talks in Israel and Egypt on how to defuse the crisis. British Foreign Secretary James Cleverly also visited Israel last week, and US Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed in Tel Aviv again on Monday as part of an extended Middle East trip, according to a Reuters witness.