Spanish minister calls for breaking ties with Israel 'once and for all'

What's happening in Palestine is "genocide" and an attempt to exterminate an entire people, the Spanish minister for social rights said, calling to cut diplomatic ties with Israel.

Speaking in parliament on Wednesday, Ione Belarra asked Spain's conservative Popular Party, considered pro-Israel, whether it will "stop being complicit with the genocidal state of Israel."

Mentioning that Palestinians are facing "ethnic cleansing," she said what they are seeing these days is "terrifying," referring to Israeli army's relentless air and ground attacks on the Gaza Strip since a cross-border attack by Hamas on Oct. 7.

At least 10,569 Palestinians, including 4,324 children and 2,823 women, have been killed since then. The Israeli death toll, meanwhile, is nearly 1,600, according to official figures.

Besides the large number of casualties and massive displacements, basic supplies are running low for Gaza's 2.3 million residents due to the Israeli siege.

"And this is happening in a context where the state of Israel has been for decades illegally occupying lands that do not belong, stealing homes from Palestinians, harassing them exercising daily violence against Palestinian people," said Belarra, who is the leader of the left-wing Podemos party.

"Do you agree with the massive bombings? More Palestinian children have been killed in just one month than in all the wars the entire world last year. Do you condemn these murders," she asked.

Saying that what's Israel doing is not "legitimate defense," stressing that most Spaniards want an end to this "genocide."

"Let us break diplomatic relations with Israel once and for all," she said.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Wednesday that the number of civilians killed in the Gaza Strip shows that there is something "clearly wrong" with Israel's military operations.