“Unbearable for the most basic humanity. » This is how Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares described the situation in the Middle East after Israel’s invasion of southern Lebanon. “This must stop as quickly as possible,” declared the head of Spanish diplomacy after the Council of Ministers, without announcing any coercive measures against Israel, which has already killed more than 40,000 people in almost a year. offensive on Gaza, in addition to those provoked in Lebanon, Yemen and Syria.
“We cannot resign ourselves to war being the normal path in the Middle East,” Albares said: “Peace requires respect for international law, which requires the protection of civilians, dialogue and mutual recognition. Spain condemned the Hezbollah missile launch as we condemned the Hamas terrorist attack on October 7, but the Israeli attack on Lebanon has already caused 1,600 deaths, the highest number in 30 years. “This spiral of violence must stop. »
Albares acknowledged that “conflict fronts are multiplying in Yemen, Iraq… the region is on the verge of open war. The international community and Spain must assume their responsibilities, Iran and Israel must act with restraint to avoid scenarios.”
“Spain demands a ceasefire in Gaza and the release of the hostages,” Albares said, “and in Lebanon we say that the ground invasion must stop. A truce is necessary in Lebanon and a ceasefire in Gaza. We cannot forget Palestine, the West Bank, we must stop the weapons and give way to diplomacy. This conflict has a human dimension that must be mitigated, there are thousands of injured, a million displaced people in Lebanon, people who have lost everything. “Spain is ready to help Lebanese civilians and work for de-escalation in the region. »
Albares recalled that the UN troops, the Spanish-led UNIFIL mission, are in favor of a UN Security Council resolution that establishes the withdrawal of Israeli troops and the deployment of UNIFIL forces. “Lebanon is a sovereign state and we are witnessing massive and indiscriminate bombings,” he said: “The entire government is united around the same goal: achieving peace and respect for international law humanitarian. The extension of a conflict to a sovereign State, and I would like to emphasize this, a sovereign State, gives another dimension to the conflict.
