Spain worried that Israel-Palestine conflict could spill over to other countries

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) - Spain’s acting Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares warned on Monday about the risk of the Israel-Palestine conflict spilling over to other countries.

“The exchange of fire between Hezbollah and Israel is very worrying,” Albares said in an interview with state broadcaster RTVE, referring to the rocket and artillery strikes between the Lebanese militant group and Israeli forces on Saturday.

Albares said he has spoken to his counterparts in Jordan, Egypt, Qatar, Türkiye, and Saudi Arabia, and they all agree on the importance of containing the conflict and ending the escalation of violence.

Albares said he has spoken twice to the Israeli Minister of Foreign Affairs Eli Cohen this weekend.

“The minister reminded me of Israel’s right to defense itself,” he said. “Obviously, all states have that right… but at the same time, any defense must fall within the limits of international and humanitarian law, something Spain highlights in any conflict.”

Albares said he also called his Palestinian counterpart Riyad al-Maliki, with whom he agreed that “this level of violence must halt immediately” and about the importance of making sure the conflict does not expand into other areas like the West Bank or Lebanon.

The Spanish foreign minister also announced that two Spaniards had “been affected” by the attack on Israel. RTVE reported that a woman may have been captured by Hamas while a man living in a kibbutz near the Gaza Strip has gone missing.

Albares called on Hamas to end attacks and release the estimated 150 captives and said the attack on Israel was “terrorism.”

The Spanish foreign minister added that there were “quite a few Spaniards” in Israel this weekend but that after some interruptions to air traffic, flights between Spain and Israel have been “normalized.”

On Monday, Israel’s Ambassador to Spain Rodica Radian-Gordon told broadcaster Onda Cero that the number of captives taken into the Gaza Strip is still unclear.

“None of us want to re-occupy the Gaza Strip; this is about eliminating Hamas,” she said about the Israeli attacks when asked about Israel’s retaliation plans. “Our top priority is bringing back captives.”

The Gaza-based resistance group Hamas launched Operation Al-Aqsa Flood against Israel early Saturday, firing a barrage of rockets. It said the surprise attack was in response to the storming of Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied East Jerusalem and increased settler violence.

In retaliation, the Israeli army launched Operation Swords of Iron against Hamas in the Gaza Strip, killing at least 493 Palestinians and wounding 2,751 others.

More than 800 Israelis have been killed and over 2,300 others wounded in the fighting, according to Israeli media and the Health Ministry.