Spanish PM warns Israel wants to inflict on Lebanon 'same destruction' as in Gaza

MADRID - Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu "seeks to inflict the same level of damage and destruction" on Lebanon as Israeli forces had wrought on the Gaza Strip, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez told lawmakers on Wednesday.

Sanchez, who appeared before the lower house to explain his government's stance against the US-Israeli war on Iran, 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," Sanchez said.

The statement, delivered during a parliamentary session on Spain’s position regarding the broader Middle East crises — including the ongoing US-Israeli war against Iran — marks one of the strongest public criticisms yet from a European leader of Israel’s reported plans for southern Lebanon.

Sanchez’s remarks come amid intensifying Israeli military operations against Hezbollah in southern Lebanon, including airstrikes on infrastructure and reports of preparations for a possible ground offensive and buffer zone up to the Litani River. Israel has described the actions as necessary self-defence to neutralise Hezbollah rocket attacks on northern Israeli communities, while critics argue they risk repeating the humanitarian catastrophe of Gaza.

Spain has long been one of the most vocal European critics of Israeli policy in Gaza and has repeatedly called for an immediate ceasefire and adherence to international humanitarian law. Sánchez’s government has also condemned recent Israeli statements about destroying bridges over the Litani River and civilian homes in southern Lebanon, describing such plans as “a flagrant and premeditated violation of international humanitarian law.”

The prime minister’s comments align with a series of firm Spanish positions in recent days. On Monday, Spain’s Foreign Ministry issued a strong condemnation of Israeli plans targeting civilian infrastructure in Lebanon, stressing that “civilian infrastructure, including homes and healthcare facilities, can never, under international law, be considered military targets.”

Sanchez’s intervention comes as international concern grows over the risk of a full-scale war along the Israel-Lebanon border. Canada on Tuesday also strongly condemned any Israeli plans to occupy southern Lebanese territory, while several other European governments have urged restraint.

The Spanish leader used the parliamentary address to reiterate Madrid’s broader stance on the regional conflicts, including the US-Israeli campaign against Iran that began on 28 February. He warned that further escalation in Lebanon could destabilise the entire region at a moment when Gulf states are already facing Iranian missile attacks, energy infrastructure damage, and the worst global energy crisis in 40 years.

Opposition parties in Spain reacted swiftly. Some conservative lawmakers accused Sanchez of bias against Israel and of undermining European unity, while left-wing allies praised the statement as a principled defence of international law.