German foreign minister to fly to Israel for talks

BERLIN (AP) — German Foreign Minister Frank-Walter Steinmeier is flying to Israel on Monday and Tuesday for talks with both Israelis and Palestinians to help negotiate an end to the increasingly bloody six-day offensive there.

The foreign ministry confirmed a report Sunday in weekly Bild am Sonntag newspaper which said Steinmeier would meet with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas.

The newspaper quoted Steinmeier as saying "Hamas' rocket terror against Israeli cities and villages has to finally stop. The region now needs a coalition of sanity to find ways out of the escalation."

Steinmeier warned "the violence is leading to more and innocent victims on both sides. The fear of rocket attacks is horrible; the number of deaths unbearable, the suffering of the injured civilians (...) is heartbreaking."