Spain welcomes ceasefire in Gaza and approves a 24-million-euro humanitarian aid package

“It is excellent news.” This is how the Minister of Foreign Affairs, José Manuel Albares, described the agreement in principle of a ceasefire in Gaza after 15 months of war which has left 46,000 casualties.

The minister revealed his thoughts during an impromptu press conference organised in a hotel in downtown Beirut. The head of Spanish diplomacy had been in contact with Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez during the afternoon to decide on the Spanish response to the deal being negotiated in Doha. The Spanish government will first prepare the delivery of 24 million euros in urgent humanitarian aid but that figure could soon rise to 50 million. It has not yet been detailed how these shipments will enter the strip.

Albares wanted to congratulate “wholeheartedly” the negotiating teams of Qatar, the United States and Egypt. “I think this is a moment of happiness and hope. I appeal to all parties, to Hamas, to Israel, to consolidate peace. The time has come to approach relations in the Middle East in a different way. Acknowledging that we have to be very cautious, it is nevertheless a moment of hope, an opportunity,” concluded the minister, who is currently travelling around the region. On Thursday, in Syria, he met the new authorities of the country, just a month after the fall of the regime of Bashar Al-Assad.

The minister also defended Spain's decisions in recent months. These include the recognition of the Palestinian state, which precipitated a downturn of relations with Israel, as well as the attempts to create a “Euro-Arab” voice to find a solution to the conflict. “Spain will spare no effort to accompany peace and to consolidate it and make it conclusive,” he said.

Albares reiterated the official position of Spanish diplomacy, which is, that the Palestinian Authority should take over the management of Gaza and the West Bank.