Spain hosts European and Arab countries to pressure Israel to stop the war in Gaza.

 Spanish Foreign Minister José Manuel Albares said the international community should consider imposing sanctions on Israel to stop the war in Gaza, as European and Arab countries met in Madrid on Sunday to urge the Jewish state to halt its offensive.

"In the very short term, in order to stop this war, which no longer has a purpose, and to allow massive, unhindered humanitarian access, and so that Israel is not the party that decides who can eat and who cannot, sanctions must be considered," Albares told France Info radio.

After the European Union decided this week to review its cooperation agreement with Israel, Albares said, "We must consider sanctions. We must do everything, take everything into account to stop this war."

Countries that Israel has long relied on as allies have joined the growing international pressure after it expanded its military operations in Gaza.

The two-month blockade of aid has exacerbated shortages of food, water, fuel, and medicine in the Palestinian enclave, raising fears of famine.

Aid organizations say the amount of supplies Israel has allowed into the country in recent days is far below the needs.

Madrid is hosting 20 European and Arab countries, as well as international organizations, on Sunday to discuss the issue.

The Spanish minister added, "Silence at this moment is complicity in this massacre... and that is why we are meeting."

The meeting is being attended by representatives of European countries, including France, Britain, Germany, and Italy, as well as envoys from Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Morocco, the Arab League, and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation.

Albares said the goal of the meeting is to "stop this inhumane war."

He added that Spain will also urge its partners to impose an arms embargo on Israel and "not to rule out" individual sanctions against those who "want to eliminate the two-state solution once and for all."

Sunday's meeting is expected to push for a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot, speaking via video link from Paris, stressed the need to "revitalize a diplomatic horizon to find a political solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," according to the French Foreign Ministry.

Jean-Noël Barrot will meet with Palestinian Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Farsin Aghabakian-Shahin in Yerevan on Monday, the French Foreign Ministry announced.

During the Madrid meeting, he stressed "the need to exert concerted pressure to achieve a ceasefire, a massive flow of humanitarian aid, and the release of hostages in Gaza."

He also recalled the goals of the UN conference scheduled for next June, co-chaired by France and Saudi Arabia: progress toward "recognizing Palestine," normalization with Israel, and reforms of the Palestinian Authority, as well as "disarming Hamas" and providing "security guarantees for Israel."

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, a prominent critic of the war in Gaza, said last week that his country would submit a draft resolution to the UN requesting the International Court of Justice to rule on "Israel's compliance with its international obligations regarding the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza."

He added that Spain would also support another UN draft resolution calling on Israel to "end the humanitarian blockade" and ensure "full and unrestricted access for humanitarian aid" to Gaza.

The war in Gaza erupted after a surprise attack launched by Hamas on October 7, 2023, on southern Israel, killing 1,218 people in Israel, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official figures.

The attack also took 251 hostages, 57 of whom remain in Gaza, including 34 who Israel said were killed.

Since the start of the war, 53,939 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, the majority of them civilians, and 122,797 have been wounded. At least 3,785 Palestinians have been killed since Israel resumed its strikes and military operations on March 18 after a fragile two-month truce, according to the latest toll released Sunday by the Hamas-run Health Ministry in Gaza.