Spain’s PM says Israel to inflict on Lebanon same destruction as in Gaza

Pedro ​Sanchez has been one of the few leaders in Europe to condemn Israel’s war in Lebanon, US-Israeli ⁠war on Iran.

Spanish Prime ‌Minister Pedro Sanchez has said Israel “seeks to inflict the same level ⁠of damage and destruction” on Lebanon ⁠as on the Gaza Strip, as its army continues attacks across the neighbouring country amid plans to occupy its south.

In an address before the lower house on Wednesday, Sanchez also said his government ⁠stood against the United States-Israeli ⁠war on Iran, which presented a “far worse” scenario than the invasion of Iraq in 2003.

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“This is not the same scenario as the illegal war in Iraq. We are facing something far worse. Much worse. With a potential impact that is far broader and far deeper,” he told parliament.

Sanchez added that Iran’s new supreme ⁠leader was more hardline ⁠than his predecessor. “Mojtaba Khamenei ⁠is an equally dictatorial and even more bloodthirsty tyrant ‌than his father,” he said.

The left-wing prime minister has been one of the few leaders in Europe to condemn the US-Israel attack on Iran, describing it as “unjustifiable”.

Spain has also been one of the few European nations to consistently condemn and take action against Israel’s ongoing genocidal war on Gaza. More than 72,000 Palestinians have been killed and vast swaths of Gaza have been turned into rubble in Israeli attacks since October 7, 2023. Despite a “ceasefire” in place since October 2025, Israel has killed more than 800 Palestinians in almost daily breaches of the Trump-brokered truce.

In October, Spain’s parliament approved the enshrinement in law of a total arms embargo on Israel, permanently banning the sale of weapons, dual-use technology and military equipment in response to the genocide.

Earlier this month, the Spanish government decided ⁠to withdraw its ⁠ambassador to Israel, in a sign of rising diplomatic tensions.

Israel’s preparations to invade Lebanon and take control of territory up to 30km (18.6 miles) inside its southern border have also drawn condemnation from Canada, which warned that Lebanese sovereignty and territorial integrity “must not be violated”.

France’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Jean-Noel Barrot said Israel should refrain from its planned occupation of southern Lebanon, warning that such a move would have a dire effect on civilians.

Israel’s Minister of Defense Israel Katz said Israel’s military was “following the model of Rafah and Beit Hanoon” in Lebanon, two cities in Gaza that were razed to the ground amid the genocidal war on the Palestinian enclave.

On Monday, Israel’s far-right Minister of Finance Bezalel Smotrich went even further in calling for Israel’s official annexation of southern Lebanon, saying a “change of Israel’s borders” was necessary.

The world’s top genocide scholars formally declared in September that Israel’s war on Gaza meets the legal definition of genocide. A United Nations inquiry also found that Israel’s war on Gaza amounts to a genocide.