Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez on Thursday became the most prominent European leader to describe the situation in Gaza as a "genocide", as rescuers in the war-ravaged Palestinian territory said Israeli forces killed 65 people.

After more than 20 months of devastating conflict, rights groups say Gaza's population of more than two million face famine-like conditions.

Israel began allowing supplies to trickle in at the end of May following a blockade of more than two months but distribution has been marred by chaotic scenes and near-daily reports of Israeli forces firing on those waiting to collect rations.

Israel meanwhile is pressing its bombardment of the territory, in a military offensive it says is aimed at defeating militant group Hamas, whose October 2023 attack on Israel triggered the war.

Sanchez said Gaza was in a "catastrophic situation of genocide" and urged the European Union to immediately suspend its cooperation deal with Israel.

The comments represent the strongest condemnation to date by the Spanish premier, an outspoken critic of Israel's offensive who is one of the first European leaders, and the most senior, to use the term "genocide" to describe the........

© Al Monitor