German prosecutor opens murder and kidnapping probe into Hamas

Under German law, prosecutors are compelled to investigate suspected crimes abroad if they involve German citizens. The German foreign ministry confirmed on Monday that German citizens were among those kidnapped by Hamas, the Islamist movement that controls Gaza, during its weekend attack on Israel, without giving precise numbers.

Germany has launched an investigation into members of the Islamist organisation Hamas for suspected murder, manslaughter and hostage-taking, a spokesperson for the federal public prosecutor said on Tuesday. Under German law, prosecutors are compelled to investigate suspected crimes abroad if they involve German citizens.

The German foreign ministry confirmed on Monday that German citizens were among those kidnapped by Hamas, the Islamist movement that controls Gaza, during its weekend attack on Israel, without giving precise numbers. "We are working intensively with Israel regarding those who are kidnapped and missing," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz told a joint news conference on Tuesday with French President Emmanuel Macron.

"We are trying to do as much as possible to ensure the freedom, the lives and the health of these citizens," he said. The Bild newspaper first reported on the investigation and said the families of those kidnapped had appealed to the German government for help.

Hamas launched an attack at the weekend that saw fighters storming into Israeli towns, killing hundreds and abducting dozens of people. Hamas, which calls for Israel's destruction, says its attack was justified by the plight of Gaza under a 16-year-old blockade and the deadliest Israeli crackdown for years in the occupied West Bank.

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