German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sissi spoke by telephone on Monday about the situation in the Gaza Strip.

Both agreed that access for humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip and supplies for the Palestinians must be significantly improved, German government spokesman Steffen Hebestreit announced on Monday.

In addition, civilians in the conflict between Israel and the Islamist terrorist militia Hamas must be better protected.

According to Hebestreit’s statement, Scholz also emphasized that the German government considers a two-state solution to the conflict, in which Palestinians would be granted their own state, as the way to achieve peace and security for both sides.

Scholz thanked al-Sisi for Egypt’s efforts to mediate the conflict, Hebestreit said. Both Scholz and al-Sissi agreed that a regional expansion of the Gaza war must be prevented, the spokesman said.