FRANKFURT: Germany has given Israel the go-ahead to use two Heron TP combat drones in its counter-attack against Palestinian group Hamas, German magazine Der Spiegel reported on Wednesday.

Germany had rented the two Israel-made combat drones to train 16 prospective German drone pilots in Israel but the military trainees are now returning to Germany because of the Hamas attack.

German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius on Wednesday approved a request by Israel for the drone use over the weekend, said Der Spiegel, which did not specify its sources.

Israeli forces clash with Hamas after hundreds killed

A spokesperson for the defence ministry in Berlin said she could not immediately comment on the Spiegel report.

Israel's death toll rose to 1,200 on Wednesday with over 2,700 wounded, its military said, from Hamas hours-long rampage after breaching the fence enclosing Gaza on Saturday.

Israeli reprisal strikes on blockaded Gaza have killed 1,100 people and wounded 5,339, Gaza's Health Ministry said.