MADRID
\nThe international community should look to sanction Israel to stop the war in Gaza, Spain\u2019s foreign minister said, ahead of a Madrid meeting of European and Arab nations on Sunday to urge a halt to its offensive.
\nCountries Israel had long counted on as allies have been adding their voices to growing international pressure after it expanded military operations against Gaza\u2019s Hamas rulers, whose 2023 attack on Israel sparked the devastating war.
\nA two-month aid blockade has worsened shortages of food, water, fuel and medicine in the Palestinian territory, sparking fears of famine.
\nAid organizations say the trickle of supplies Israel allowed to enter in recent days falls far short of needs.
\nMadrid will host 20 countries as well as international organizations on Sunday with the aim of \u201cstopping this war, which no longer has any goal,\u201d Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares told France Info radio.
\nHumanitarian aid must enter Gaza \u201cmassively, unimpeded, neutrally, so that it is not Israel who decides who can eat and who cannot,\u201d he said.
\nA previous such gathering in Madrid last year brought together countries including Egypt, Jordan, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkiye as well as European nations such as Ireland and Norway that have recognized a Palestinian state.
\nSunday\u2019s meeting, which also includes representatives from the Arab League and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, will promote a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
\nAfter the European Union decided this week to review its cooperation deal with Israel, Albares said \u201cwe must consider sanctions, we must do everything, consider everything to stop this war.\u201d
\nHamas\u2019s October 7, 2023 attack on Israel resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mainly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.
\nPalestinian militants also took 251 hostages, 57 of whom remain in Gaza including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.
\nIsrael\u2019s retaliatory offensive has killed almost 54,000 people, mostly civilians, according to Hamas-run Gaza\u2019s health ministry.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
MADRID The international community should look to sanction Israel to stop the war in Gaza, Spain\u2019s foreign minister said, ahead of a Madrid meeting of European and Arab nations on Sunday to urge a halt to its offensive. Countries Israel had long counted on as allies have been adding their voices to growing international pressure […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-480817","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n