Overview
- A Lufthansa Airbus A340 on special flight LH345 departed Muscat for Frankfurt with more than 250 priority passengers, and the government said further evacuation flights are planned.
- Defence Minister Boris Pistorius told the Bundestag that Germany will not take part militarily and warned of the absence of an exit strategy, as legal and strategic arguments flared with figures such as Norbert Röttgen calling the strikes the lesser evil.
- Flight and shipping disruptions continue across the Gulf, leaving many travelers stranded, with reporting citing roughly 30,000 Germans stuck in the region.
- German fuel prices have surged, and the economy ministry ordered a competition review of price spikes as economists forecast a modest inflation uptick if disruptions are brief but caution about recession risks if they persist.
- Regional violence persists, with Israeli attacks on Hezbollah positions around Beirut and a tanker damaged off Kuwait, sustaining uncertainty for travel and consular operations.