Gaza is becoming ‘graveyard of international humanitarian law’, says Unrwa boss – Middle East crisis live | Israel

Europe and the west’s double standards over the wars in Ukraine and Gaza threaten to undermine its global standing, the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, has warned, describing the response to Israel’s assault on the Palestinian territory as one of the darkest episodes of international relations in the 21st century.

In an interview with the Guardian before talks with UK prime minister, Keir Starmer, in London on Wednesday, the socialist leader also said the US under Donald Trump was trying to end the post-second world war, rules-based global order it had originally created.

He also defended the benefits of migration and blamed traditional rightwing parties for breaking the consensus over the response to the climate emergency by copying the policies of their populist rivals.

Sánchez – the first senior European leader to accuse Israel of genocide in Gaza – said he was pleased that other European nations were following Spain’s lead in recognising a Palestinian state, but accepted Europe’s response had been poor. He said:

It is a failure. Absolutely. It is also the reality that, within the European Union, there are countries that are divided when it comes to how to influence Israel. But in my opinion, it’s not acceptable and we can’t last longer if we want to increase our credibility when it comes to other crises, such as the one we face in Ukraine.

The roots of these wars are completely different but, at the end of the day, the world is looking at the EU and also at western society and asking: ‘Why are you doing double standards when it comes to Ukraine and when it comes to Gaza?’

Speaking as he attempts to reassert himself on the international stage and move past a series of damaging corruption allegations that have battered his administration and fuelled calls for a snap general election, Sánchez said he was pushing Europe to do more, including punishing Israel financially. He said:

What we’re now witnessing in Gaza is perhaps one of the darkest episodes of international relations in the 21st century, and in this regard what I have to say is that Spain has been very vocal within the EU and also within the international community. Within the EU, what we have done so far is advocate to suspend the strategic partnership that the EU has with Israel.

The commissioner general of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (Unrwa) has warned that Gaza is “becoming the graveyard of international humanitarian law”.

In an interview with El País, Philippe Lazzarini, said Unrwa had been “warning about the signs of famine and sounding the alarm bells for months” but that its warnings had “fallen on deaf ears”. He added that through its health centres, Unrwa had seen the number of acutely malnourished children in Gaza City had increased “sixfold in the last [six] months”.

He also described the West Bank as seeing “unprecedented levels of violence and forced displacement, which would surely be making today’s headlines if they hadn’t been overshadowed by the disaster in Gaza”.

Asked about international humanitarian law and for multilateral cooperation in future conflicts, Lazzarini said:

Gaza is becoming the graveyard of international humanitarian law. Everything has been so blatantly disregarded … Including the provision ruling of the international court of justice urging a significant increase in unimpeded assistance. That was in January 2024, and look where we are today.

Impunity prevails, and there’s a growing sense in the region that international humanitarian law is not universal. Today, it’s difficult to teach Palestinians anything about human rights in schools.

We have made the Geneva convention[s] almost irrelevant. What is happening and being accepted today in Gaza is not something that can be isolated; it will become the new norm for all future conflicts.

In an interview with the Guardian, the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sánchez, described Europe’s response to the war in Gaza as a “failure”. He described the response to Israel’s assault on the Palestinian territory as one of the darkest episodes of international relations in the 21st century.

Here are some other key developments:

• Spanish prime minister Pedro Sánchez has told the Guardian that he was pushing Europe to do more about the war in Gaza, including punishing Israel financially. Sánchez – the first senior European leader to accuse Israel of genocide in Gaza – said he was pleased that other European nations were following Spain’s lead in recognising a Palestinian state, but accepted Europe’s response had been poor.

• Tens of thousands of reservists in Israel will return to active service in the coming weeks amid an intense debate in their ranks over the war in Gaza, which reflects wider divisions in the country. Some will be forced to make their decision within days.

• Belgium’s foreign minister, Maxime Prévot, has said his country will recognise a Palestinian state at the UN general assembly later this month, adding to international pressure on Israel after similar moves by Australia, Britain, Canada and France. The decision comes “in light of the humanitarian tragedy unfolding in Palestine, particularly in Gaza, and in response to the violence perpetrated by Israel in violation of international law,” Prévot said in a post to social media.

• Israeli president Isaac Herzog will travel to the Vatican on Thursday to meet Pope Leo XIV, who recently demanded that Israel stop its “collective punishment” of the population in Gaza. The one-day visit is being made at the invitation of the pope, Herzog’s office said in a statement on Tuesday.