Spain slams Netanyahu over Lebanon strikes, wants EU-Israel pact halted

Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sánchez has decried Israel’s latest military action in Lebanon, accusing Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of violating international law.

Israel pounded areas in Beirut, southern suburbs, and the eastern Bekaa Valley, killing 254 people and wounding over 1,165, according to Lebanon’s Civil Defence and Health Ministry.

Sánchez denounced Netanyahu’s “harshest attack” in the country since the offensive began, saying “his contempt for life and international law is intolerable.”

In a post on X, the Spanish leader advocated Lebanon’s inclusion in the ceasefire, and urged the international community to condemn “this new violation of international law.”

“The European Union must suspend its Association Agreement with Israel,” Sánchez wrote. “And there must be no impunity for these criminal acts.”

The PM, however, said ceasefires are good if they lead to a just and lasting peace, arguing that the chaos, destruction, and lives lost should not be forgotten because of a “momentary relief.”

Sánchez called for diplomacy, international legality, and peace, and insists Spain will not applaud those who set the world on fire just because they show up with a bucket.

More than 1,500 people in Lebanon have died and over 1.2 million displaced since Israel resumed its operation on March 2, a few days after the Iran war started.

“We have given Hezbollah the strongest blow they have suffered since the pagers,”Netanyahu said about Wednesday’s strikes, stressing that the temporary ceasefire with Iran will not include Lebanon.

A spokesperson for the Israel Defense Forces declared that the operation against Hezbollah will not stop as long as the organization continues to threaten the Israeli population.