German officials have announced an investigation into the Berlin film festival winners who made "one-sided" comments condemning Israel's military actions in Gaza during the awards ceremony on Saturday. At the event's finale, several winners were accused of making anti-Semitic remarks on stage in relation to Israel's military assault that began after an attack by Palestinian militant group Hamas on October 7. The Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1,160 people in Israel, mostly civilians, while Israel's retaliatory military offensive has killed at least 29,782 people in Gaza, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

US filmmaker Ben Russell, donning a Palestinian scarf, accused Israel of committing "genocide" with its bombardment of Gaza, while Palestinian filmmaker Basel Adra claimed the Palestinian population were being "massacred" by Israel, which received applause from the audience. Government spokeswoman Christiane Hoffmann emphasized that it was unacceptable that the terrorist attack by Hamas on October 7 was not mentioned during the ceremony. Chancellor Olaf Scholz expressed that such a one-sided stance could not be allowed to stand and highlighted the importance of considering the event that triggered the conflict escalation in the Middle East.

Culture Minister Claudia Roth and mayor Kai Wegner have also faced criticism over the ceremony, with a report in top tabloid Bild showing the pair applauding Adra's remarks. Germany, deeply influenced by its history during World War II, has traditionally supported Israel, particularly following the October 7 attack. The Berlinale, as the Berlin film festival is known, receives substantial government funding. Government spokesperson Hoffmann mentioned that the current focus was on ensuring such incidents would not be repeated, as they are investigating the matter further.

In response to the controversy, the film festival issued a statement on Sunday indicating that the winners' remarks represented independent opinions and did not reflect the festival's position. However, they acknowledged the outrage and agreed that some award winners' statements were perceived as too one-sided. The culture minister and Berlin mayor will be reviewing the incident and hold discussions with the festival's incoming director to prevent such occurrences in the future.