Spain, Ireland urge EU probe into Israeli human rights violations in Gaza

Spain and Ireland have asked the European Union to "urgently" examine whether Israel is complying with its human rights obligations in Gaza under an accord that links rights to trade ties.

The Spanish and Irish prime ministers Pedro Sanchez and Leo Varadkar sent a letter on Wednesday to the European Commission urging it to "act urgently on the Gaza crisis".

"Given the critical situation in Rafah, Ireland and Spain have just requested the European Commission urgently review whether Israel is complying with its obligations to respect human rights in Gaza," Sanchez wrote on X, formerly Twitter.

More than 1.4 million Palestinians are trapped in the southern city of Rafah as Israeli troops ready a full-scale ground operation that has triggered international alarm over the potential for mass casualties in Israel's four-month war on Gaza's Hamas rulers.

In the letter, the two leaders demand "an urgent review of whether Israel is complying with its obligations, including under the EU/Israel Association Agreement, which makes respect for human rights and democratic principles an essential element of the relationship," it says.

The association agreement is the main basis for the bloc's trade ties with Israel. Signed in 1995, it came into force in 2000.

"If it considers that (Israel) is in breach", the Commission should propose "appropriate measures to the Council to consider," the letter said.

The European Commission confirmed receiving the letter and would "look into it", spokeswoman Arianna Podesta told reporters.

Foreign affairs spokeswoman Nabila Massrali was not immediately able to say how the Commission would review the human rights element of the agreement, but said there "must be accountability for any violation of inter national law".

The EU, she said, consistently stressed the importance of protecting civilians and deplores the loss of life, with such messages passed on "in its contacts with the Israeli authorities".

Israel stands accused of genocide

Since the cross-border incursion by the Palestinian group Hamas on October 7, the Israeli offensive into Gaza has killed more than 28,500 Palestinians and caused mass destruction and shortages of necessities.

The Israeli war on Gaza has pushed 85 percent of the territory's population into internal displacement amid acute shortages of food, clean water, and medicine, while 60 percent of the enclave's infrastructure has been damaged or destroyed, according to the UN.

Israel stands accused of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which in an interim ruling in January ordered Tel Aviv to stop genocidal acts and take measures to guarantee that humanitarian assistance is provided to civilians in Gaza.

Spain, Ireland and Belgium have been among the most critical in Europe of Israel.