German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has announced new German arms shipments to Israel, defying the French president, who has called for arms not to be supplied if they are used in the Gaza war.

"We in government have made decisions that will ensure the latest shipments," Scholz told the House of Representatives during a commemorative debate on the October 7, 2023, attack by Hamas on Israel.

"We have not decided not to hand over arms," ​​Scholz added in response to accusations from the conservative opposition, which pointed to the months-long freeze on shipments and "fissures in German solidarity" with Israel.

"We have handed over the weapons and we will hand over the weapons", he said again, without specifying the type, quantity or purpose of the weapons.

French President Emmanuel Macron recently called for an end to arms shipments to Israel used in Gaza, drawing the ire of the Israeli prime minister and some caution in Berlin, a traditional friend of Israel.

"Macron's statements caused great surprise and concern in Germany," German political scientist and international relations expert Daniela Schwarzer of the Bertelsmann Foundation said this week during a meeting with foreign journalists in Berlin.

"We see a new statement by Macron that has created a great tension that, from the German point of view, will be very difficult to overcome," she added.

"For weeks and months, the federal government has refused export licenses to send ammunition and even spare parts for tanks to Israel," Friedrich Merz, the leader of Germany's conservative opposition in the Bundestag, said in a criticism of the government.

Israel is engaged on several fronts, fighting Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon, while it is threatening to respond to a major missile attack by Iran that occurred last Tuesday.