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Spain PM Claims Spain Can’t Intervene in Gaza War Without Nuclear Weapons
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez speaks at a press conference in Kunshan, Jiangsu province, China, Sept. 11, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Xihao Jiang
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez intensified his anti-Israel rhetoric by claiming Spain cannot intervene in the war in Gaza because it lacks nuclear weapons — a statement that drew sharp criticism from his own government, with officials warning it could fuel hostility and legitimize violence.
“Spain, as you know, doesn’t have nuclear bombs, nor aircraft carriers, nor large oil reserves,” Sanchez said during a press conference on Monday.
“We alone can’t stop the Israeli offensive,” the Spanish leader continued. “But that doesn’t mean we won’t stop trying, because there are causes that are worth fighting for, even if winning them isn’t in our sole power.”
Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez:
Spain does not have nuclear bombs, aircraft carriers or large oil reserves.
We alone cannot stop the Israeli offensive. But that doesn’t mean we are going to stop trying.
Because there are causes that are worth fighting for, even if… pic.twitter.com/sVZaCPie9m
— Clash Report (@clashreport) September 11, 2025
Earlier this week, Sánchez unveiled new policies targeting Israel over the war in Gaza, including an arms embargo and a ban on certain Israeli goods, arguing that such measures are intended to “stop the genocide, pursue its perpetrators, and support the Palestinian population.”
The Spanish government also announced it would bar entry to individuals involved in what it called a “genocide against Palestinians,” later identifying far-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich as the officials prohibited from entering the country.
Sánchez also barred Israel-bound ships and aircraft carrying weapons from Spanish ports and airspace, and enforced an embargo on products from Israeli communities in the West Bank.
The leader of the far-right Vox party, Santiago Abascal, condemned Sánchez’s remarks, accusing him of siding with the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas and failing to protect Spanish citizens.
“Sánchez would like to have nuclear weapons… but not to defend Spain. To defend Hamas. And probably Maduro as well,” Abascal wrote in a post on X. “Cornered tyrants always end up losing their minds.”
Sánchez quisiera tener armas nucleares … pero no para defender España. Para defender a Hamas. Y seguramente a Maduro. Los tiranos acorralados siempre acaban enloqueciendo.
Es capaz de aliarse con Hamas para tapar que su mujer, imputada por robar, declara ante el juez esta misma… https://t.co/TajcRYEILB pic.twitter.com/xRXyHOjhlA
— Santiago Abascal
(@Santi_ABASCAL) September 8, 2025
The Spanish center-right Popular Party also criticized Sánchez’s comments, asking, “A nuclear bomb on Tel Aviv? Is that what he intends to do?”
Shortly after Sánchez unveiled these new measures targeting Jerusalem, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar accused him of antisemitism, leading Spain to recall its ambassador from Israel.
In a post on X, Saar condemned the Spanish government for pursuing an escalating anti-Israel campaign aimed at undermining the Jewish state on the international stage.
“The government of Spain is leading a hostile, anti-Israel line, marked by wild, hate-filled rhetoric,” the Israeli top diplomat wrote, accusing Sánchez’s “corrupt” administration of trying to “divert attention from grave corruption scandals.”
Saar also announced sanctions against two Spanish ministers, imposing an entry and contact ban on Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Labor Yolanda Díaz and Minister of Children and Youth Sira Rego.
He accused both ministers of promoting antisemitic rhetoric, citing multiple examples of statements calling for Israel’s destruction and endorsing violence against Israeli citizens in the aftermath of the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Since the start of the war in Gaza, Spain has become one of Jerusalem’s fiercest critics, a stance that has only intensified in recent months.
In the aftermath of the Oct. 7 atrocities, Spain halted arms shipments from its own defense companies to Israel and launched a diplomatic campaign to curb the country’s military response.
Last year, Spain officially recognized a Palestinian state, claiming the move was accelerated by the Israel-Hamas war and would help foster peace in the region. However, Israeli officials described the decision as a “reward for terrorism.”
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.