Spain’s far-left ministers continue to slam Israel’s ‘genocide’ in Gaza

Several far-left ministers in Spain's caretaker government continued to speak out against Israeli attacks on Gaza on Wednesday, pushing for Spain and the international community to do more to stop its actions in Palestine.

"Bombing hospitals, refugee camps, children, defenseless elderly people, Israel is demonstrating the worst of humanity. How long will European leaders make us accomplices of this barbarism," Ione Belarra, head of the Podemos party and minister for social rights, posted on X.

Belarra, who has been pressuring Spain and the EU to break off ties with Israel, also praised Bolivia for breaking diplomatic relations with Israel and Colombia for calling the siege a genocide.

After Israel admitted to bombing a refugee camp on Tuesday, Spain's Minister for Consumer Affairs Alberto Garzon also shared his condemnation.

"The impunity of Israel and its crimes is an international disgrace. A genocide that will weigh on the Western governments that support and justify it," he posted on social media.

Meanwhile, Spain's Equality Minister Irene Montero re-shared Colombian leader Gustavo Petro's post calling Israel's actions genocidal and saying "its allies cannot speak of democracy."

Earlier this week, the Federation of Jewish Communities in Spain called out Spanish ministers for "antisemitism." The Israeli embassy in Spain also slammed them as having "aligned themselves with ISIS-like terrorism," for prior comments.

Spain rebuked the embassy's statement, accusing it of mischaracterizing their positions and asserting that Spanish politicians can freely share their opinions.

Foreign Affairs Minister Jose Manuel Albares also insisted that Spain's official foreign policy is only determined by his or the prime minister's office.

While Albares and Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez have not gone as far as accusing Israel of genocide, they have called for an urgent humanitarian cease-fire and criticized the Israeli siege.

Albares on Wednesday said he was "appalled by the civilian victims of the bombing in Jabalia." An Israeli airstrike the previous day led to hundreds of casualties, according to the Interior Ministry in the besieged enclave.

Sanchez is also trying to organize a peace summit to give the warring sides a "concrete horizon" for lasting solutions.

"The international community already recognizes Israel and now what we need to do is to recognize the Palestinian state," he said.