Spain criticises Israeli vote on West Bank annexation
Spain has strongly condemned a vote by Israel’s parliament in favour of annexing the West Bank, warning that it “disregards the fundamental principles and provisions of international law”.
In a sharply worded statement, Spain’s Foreign Ministry said the motion, while nonbinding, “undermines the basis for the implementation of a two-State solution” and ignores longstanding commitments made since the Madrid Conference and Oslo Process.
Madrid also renewed its “condemnation of the expansion of settlements” and called for “the release of hostages, the cessation of hostilities and mass entry of humanitarian aid to the Gaza Strip”.
Reaffirming its diplomatic position, Spain declared its “firm support for the two-State solution as the only way to achieve peace”.
Earlier, we reported that Israel’s parliament had approved a symbolic measure calling for the annexation of the occupied West Bank, with Knesset lawmakers voting 71-13 in favour of the motion.
Freedom Flotilla loses contact with Handala en route to Gaza
The Freedom Flotilla Coalition (FFC) announced Thursday that it has lost contact with the “Handala,” a ship carrying humanitarian aid to Gaza as part of the group’s mission to break Israel’s blockade.
According to a statement posted on the coalition’s official Telegram channel, the group said: “All communications with the ‘Handala’s crew have been jammed.”
“We lost all contact with our crew, and there are multiple drones near the vessel,” it said. “Which means that they could have been intercepted or attacked.”
No further details were available regarding the ship’s precise location, the status of its crew, or confirmation of an Israeli intervention.
Israeli strikes on Lebanon continue
Video circulating on social media, verified by Al Jazeera’s fact-checking unit, shows plumes of smoke rising over the Mahmoudiya area, near the Litani River in southern Lebanon.
Lebanon’s state-run National News Agency reported a short while ago that Israeli attacks targeted “the Rayhan Heights… the areas of Sajed, Jarmaq, Mahmoudiya, Deir al-Zahrani, al-Jabour and Wadi Baraz”.
“The enemy aircraft also raided the area between al-Zararia and Ansar”, the agency added in its report.
الطيران الحربي يشنّ سلسلة من الغارات على منطقة المحمودية _ الزغرين _ أطراف سجد و بين أنصار والزرارية و مجرى الليطاني قرب برغز واطراف ميدون والجبور pic.twitter.com/M94EHcJy6m
— التحري نيوز (@ataharinews) July 24, 2025
Translation: Warplanes launched a series of raids on the Mahmoudiya area – al-Zaghrin – the outskirts of Sajd, between Ansar and al-Zarariyeh, the Litani River near Barghoz, and the outskirts of Midoun and al-Jabour.
