MADRID: Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Sunday defended remarks he made regarding the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip, adding, “It was a question of being humane.”
Visiting the Rafah border crossing between Egypt and Gaza on Friday with Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, Prime Minister Sanchez said the “indiscriminate killings of innocent civilian populations” in the Palestinian territory was “totally unacceptable.”
They also called for a permanent truce in Gaza, with the Belgian PM also condemning the destruction in Gaza as “unacceptable.”
After the development, the Israeli Foreign Ministry summoned the ambassadors of Belgium and Spain for their comments by the two nations’ leaders.
Spain’s PM Defends His Comments About Israeli Offensive in Gaza
“Condemning the indiscriminate slaughter of Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, is not a question of ideology nor political parties; it is a question of being humane,” PM Sanchez told a gathering in Madrid to clapping from the audience.
On the other hand, Spanish Minister for Foreign Affairs Jose Manuel Albares told public television on Friday he had called the country’s envoy to lodge an official protest against the Israeli government’s accusations.
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The development comes as on Sunday, the Palestinian Hamas released a third group of 17 captives, marking a total of 58 hostages released since the initiation of the four-day ceasefire on Friday. This exchange was accompanied by the release of 39 Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. The Israeli army said that 13 of the released hostages have returned to Israel. The releases, part of the Gaza ceasefire agreement, have brought the total number of Israelis freed to 39 since the ceasefire began, with a corresponding release of 117 Palestinian prisoners over the past three days.
Israel launched a massive army campaign in Gaza after a cross-border surprise attack by Hamas on Oct. 7. It has since killed more than 15,000 Palestinians, including children and women, according to health authorities in the Strip. Around 1,200 Israelis have also been killed in the conflict between the two sides.
