Following the US threat to withhold further arms should Israeli troops begin a large-scale push into the southern Gaza Strip city of Rafah, German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius on Thursday said that Berlin is considering similar steps.
"This is currently being discussed," the minister told the German broadcaster ZDF's programme Heute Journal on Thursday evening. However, the responsibility for this lies with the Chancellery and the Foreign Office, he said.
They had discussed it "behind closed doors." When asked by the presenter whether he understood the US government's move, Pistorius said: "Yes, I can understand that."
Israeli operations in Rafah are so far mainly limited to the east of city, where an evacuation order was issued at the start of the week.
The US is Israel's main backer but President Joe Biden threatened to further restrict supplies if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu goes ahead with a major offensive. Israel says the Rafah operation is aimed at eliminating the Palestinian extremist organization Hamas.
At the same time, Biden said that the US would continue to offer its full support to Israel in defending against attacks.
Following a meeting with UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Wednesday, Pistorius called for a further escalation of the Gaza war to be prevented.
Both agreed that everything must be done to alleviate or end the humanitarian misery of the Palestinian population in the Gaza Strip.
Pistorius told the Heute Journal that it was crucial for Israel to "continue to focus on de-escalation" in the conflict.