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Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez has accused Israel and Russia of spreading disinformation about Spain's migration policy following a surge of migrants in Ceuta, a Spanish territory in North Africa. Between July 30 and July 31, over 72,000 migrants crossed into Ceuta, resulting in at least 100 deaths. Sánchez, in collaboration with Morocco's Interior Ministry, attributes the influx to human trafficking networks that took advantage of misconstrued information regarding Spain's altered border policy.

During his first interview since the crisis, Sánchez revealed that Israel and Russia orchestrated internet campaigns to discredit Spain's government during the ensuing chaos. He alleged that these disinformation efforts, fuelled by an international far-right movement, were directed not just against Spain, but also against Europe, aiming to divide it.

This claim was echoed by the European Union's external action service, which identified Russia and Israel as behind the disinformation campaigns, though they did not provide further details.

The European Union spokesperson only confirmed that Russia had attempted to exploit the Ceuta crisis online, without ruling out the possibility that disinformation might have triggered the situation. The spokesperson noted that the European External Action Service shares its research with member states only when their interests are affected.

Sánchez emphasized that Israel and Russia's actions were motivated by Spain's stance on the genocide in Gaza and Russia's invasion of Ukraine. He is one of Europe's most outspoken critics of Israel's conduct in Gaza and Iran. Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Sa ar denounced Sánchez's allegations as "shameless lies," asserting that they would not detract from his government's inability to handle the situation.

Russia's Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov dismissed Sánchez's claims, stating that Russia had no role in the migrant crisis or the disinformation campaigns. The deteriorating diplomatic relations between Spain and Israel since the start of the Gaza conflict in 2023 have seen Madrid recognize Palestine as a state and ban ships carrying arms to Israel from docking in Spanish ports. Following the crisis, both countries have since recalled their ambassadors.