UPDATE - Spain's foreign minister vows continued support for Lebanese Armed Forces

UPDATES WITH MORE COMMENTS FROM SPAIN'S FOREIGN MINISTER; ADDS BYLINE, DATELINE

By Alyssa McMurtry and Nur Asena Erturk

OVIEDO, Spain / ANKARA (AA) - The Spanish foreign minister on Monday vowed continued support for the Lebanese Armed Forces.

Jose Manuel Albares announced on X that he met with his Lebanese counterpart Abdallah Bou Habib in Barcelona ahead of the Union for the Mediterranean Regional Forum.

"I conveyed to him Spain's commitment to his country. We will remain in (UN Interim Force in Lebanon), we have contributed €5.5M ($5.9 million) in humanitarian aid and we will continue to support the Lebanese Armed Forces," Albares said.

Later, addressing the Union for the Mediterranean, which brings together representatives from 43 states, Albares emphasized the need for European-Arabic-Islamic dialogue to bring stability to the region.

He said that a consensus for a two-state solution for Israel and Palestine is not enough.

“We need to implement it from theory to practice,” he said, adding that the living conditions in Gaza are currently “unbearable.”

He also lamented the “collapse of the international system,” referring to the ongoing wars in the region.

“The United Nations is questioned; the UN Secretary-General is declared persona non grata (by Israel), police bodies are attacked in violation of international law; and UN agencies are being called terrorist organizations,” he said.

“If we continue to allow this, international humanitarian law will be reduced to mere declarations,” he added.

Israel has mounted a huge air campaign in Lebanon since last month against what it says are Hezbollah targets in an escalation from a year of cross-border warfare between Israel and the Lebanese group since the start of Israel’s brutal offensive on Gaza.

Over 2,670 people have been killed and nearly 12,500 injured in Israeli attacks since October last year, according to Lebanese health authorities.

Israel expanded the conflict on Oct. 1 this year by launching a ground assault into southern Lebanon.

Several European countries expressed support for Lebanon and denounced Israeli attacks on the UN peacekeeping mission (UNIFIL).