German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock is in Israel on Friday after stops in Saudi Arabia and Jordan. The top German diplomat is in the Middle East to promote efforts to advance a ceasefire and hostage release deal between Israel and Hamas, as well as to increase humanitarian aid into war-ravaged Gaza. After 11 months of fighting, the Biden administration said this week it believes that a ceasefire deal remains within reach. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu insists that troops stay in a buffer zone in Gaza along the border with Egypt – a demand that has proved the latest stumbl…