Spain’s foreign minister urged the international community Sunday to impose sanctions on Israel to halt the war in Gaza, as European and Arab nations convened in Madrid to call for an end to the offensive.
Several of Israel’s longtime allies have joined mounting global pressure following its expanded military campaign against Palestinians in Gaza.
A two-month blockade on aid has worsened shortages of food, water, fuel and medicine in Gaza, raising fears of a looming famine.
Aid organizations say the limited supplies Israel has recently allowed into Gaza fall far short of what’s needed.
The talks in Madrid aim to stop Israel’s “inhumane” and “senseless” war in Gaza, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told reporters before the gathering opened.
Humanitarian aid must enter Gaza “massively, without conditions and without limits, and not controlled by Israel,” he added, describing the Strip as humanity’s “open wound.”
“Silence in these moments is complicity in this massacre... that is why we are meeting,” Albares said.
Representatives from European countries including France, Britain, Germany and Italy joined envoys from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Türkiye, Morocco, the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
Norway, Iceland, Ireland and Slovenia – which, like Spain, have already recognized a Palestinian state – are also taking part alongside Brazil.
After the European Union decided this week to review its cooperation deal with Israel, Albares told reporters Spain would request its “immediate suspension.”
Spain would also urge partners to impose an arms embargo on Israel and “not rule out any” individual sanctions against those “who want to ruin the two-state solution forever,” he added.
Sunday’s meeting will also promote a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez is an outspoken critic of the war.
He has said Spain will back draft resolutions at the United Nations aimed at increasing aid access to Gaza and holding Israel accountable for its international humanitarian obligations.
Madrid’s attempt to rally a wider consensus on the war comes a year after it broke with some European allies by recognizing a Palestinian state, infuriating Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s government.
Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, incursion on southern Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people.
The Palestinian group members also took 251 hostages, 57 of whom remain in Gaza.
Israel’s retaliatory offensive has killed nearly 54,000 people according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.
