On Monday evening, Spain condemned Israel’s bombing of Lebanon, which has caused up to 350 deaths.
In a press release the same day, the Spanish foreign ministry expressed ‘its deep dismay’ at Israel’s bombing of Lebanon and called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza.
On Monday, Israel bombed Beirut and southern Lebanon in an attempt to take out a senior Hizbullah commander and the group’s armoury. Hezbollah responded with missile strikes on northern Israel. According to Lebanon’s health ministry, more than 350 people, including women and children, have been killed in the Israeli air strikes.
The Spanish Foreign Ministry issued a statement later that day condemning the attacks in a press release.
“The Government of Spain expresses its deep dismay and condemnation of the Israeli bombardment of southern and eastern Lebanon today, which has left hundreds dead, in response to Hezbollah’s attacks on Israel over the weekend”, the statement read, calling for respect for civilian lives and international humanitarian law.
“An immediate and permanent ceasefire in Gaza is absolutely necessary to reduce regional tension”, the press release concluded.
Background to the escalation
In recent months, tensions between Israel and Hezbollah have increased. The situation escalated last week when thousands of Hezbollah pagers and walkie-talkies exploded, killing at least 37 people and injuring around 3,000. Two days later, Israel carried out air strikes that killed Ibrahim Aqil, a senior Hezbollah commander.
After Aqil’s death, Hezbollah vowed retaliation and fired a wave of missiles at Israel.
– As we are pained – you will also be pained, said Hezbollah deputy leader Naim Kassem at Aqil’s funeral.
Israel’s defence minister Yoav Gallant described the ongoing attacks as a systematic destruction of Hezbollah’s infrastructure, built up over 20 years.
The UN and other international organisations have warned of the risk of the conflict spreading further in the region.
The UNHCR has expressed concern about the growing violence and is also calling for an immediate cessation of hostilities.
