The international community should look at sanctions against Israel to stop the war in Gaza, Spain's foreign minister said, as European and Arab nations gathered in Madrid Sunday to urge an end to its offensive, Al Jazeera reported.
Some of Israel's long-standing allies have added their voices to growing international pressure after it expanded military operations against Gaza's Hamas rulers, whose 2023 attack on Israel sparked the devastating war.
An aid blockade lasting almost three months has worsened shortages of food, water, fuel and medicine in the Palestinian territory, stoking fears of famine.
Aid organisations say the trickle of supplies Israel has recently allowed to enter falls far short of needs.
The talks in Madrid aim to stop Israel's "inhumane" and "senseless" war in Gaza, Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told reporters before the meeting opened.
Humanitarian aid must enter Gaza "massively, without conditions and without limits, and not controlled by Israel", he added, describing the Strip as humanity's "open wound".
"Silence in these moments is complicity in this massacre... that is why we are meeting," said Albares.
Representatives from European countries including France, Britain, Germany and Italy are joining envoys from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Morocco, the Arab League and the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation.
Norway, Iceland, Ireland and Slovenia, who like Spain have already recognised a Palestinian state, are also taking part, alongside Brazil.
MNA
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