Spain’s deputy PM urges Europe to help stop ‘massacre’ in Gaza

By Alyssa McMurtry

OVIEDO, Spain (AA) - Spain’s deputy prime minister Yolanda Diaz on Friday called on the international community to put pressure on Israel to avoid “a massacre” in Gaza.

Her statement came after Israeli forces warned more than 1 million residents in the north of Gaza to move south within 24 hours.

“The international community cannot look the other way,” Diaz posted on the social media platform X. “The EU must demand that Israel halt the plans that are causing a massacre.”

Diaz is the head of Spain’s far-left Sumar party, which is a junior partner in Spain’s acting coalition government. She called on Spain and the EU “to urgently mobilize for peace.”

Earlier this week, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares said the entire government condemns Hamas's attack on Israel, but agrees that any military response must fall within international law.

The UN has warned that Israel’s order to evacuate the north of Gaza amid constant bombing would be impossible “without devastating humanitarian consequences.”

Spain is one of the few Western countries that announced it is boosting its aid to Palestine amid the conflict.

“We can’t confuse Hamas with the Palestinian people,” Albares said on Tuesday. “What we are going to need in the days to come isn’t less aid, it’s more humanitarian aid for Palestinians.”

According to El Pais, Spain’s Foreign Ministry is also coordinating with other European countries to try to evacuate the estimated 120 Spanish citizens from the besieged Gaza Strip.

But, at the moment, officials said it is impossible to enter or leave Gaza. To facilitate evacuations, Spanish authorities told El Pais that they would need permission from Israel, Hamas and likely the collaboration of Egypt.

Raquel Marti, executive director of the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) in Spain told El Pais that humanitarian corridors are vital for letting people out and letting aid in.

“People aren’t receiving everything they need because we are rationing since we don’t know how long this will last. If border crossings are not opened, in 11 days we will stop delivering water, food, hygiene products, and medicines,” she said.