Today in Spain: A roundup of the latest news on Thursday

Spain seeks 'urgent measures' at UN to 'stop killing' in Gaza: PM

Spain will present a draft resolution at the UN General Assembly aimed at "proposing urgent measures to stop the killing of innocent civilians and ensure humanitarian aid" in Gaza, Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez said Wednesday.

Sanchez told the Spanish parliament that "the international community cannot remain indifferent to what is happening" in the Palestinian territory, where Israel resumed its offensive against Hamas in March after a two-month ceasefire.

The Socialist premier has been one of the most outspoken critics of Israel's devastating war in Gaza, which has caused shortages of food, water, fuel and medicine.

Spain also broke with some European allies and infuriated Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's government last year by recognising a Palestinian state.

The war started after Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel from Gaza on October 7th, 2023 which resulted in the deaths of 1,218 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Palestinian militants also abducted 251 people that day, of whom 58 are still held in Gaza, including 34 the Israeli military says are dead.

Israel's retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 52,653 people, mainly civilians, according to the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.

Spain crowned world leader in Blue Flag beaches once again

In 2025, Spain has been awarded 642 Blue Flags for its beaches, four more than in 2024, making it the world leader for another year.

By region, the Valencian region continues to top the list with 164 flags, five more than in 2024. It is followed by Andalusia with 162 (with six more) Galicia with 120 (five less) and Catalonia with 118 (the same as in 2024).

On the provincial ranking, Alicante leads the way, accounting for 1 in every 10 Blue Flag beaches in the country.

The Blue Flag is awarded by the European Foundation for Environmental Education (FEE) to beaches that meet specific standards in water quality, environmental management, safety, and services.

Bedbugs and lice plague Madrid's Barajas airport

Workers at Adolfo Suárez Madrid-Barajas Airport have reported an "infestation of bedbugs and lice" affecting Terminal 4 in particular, a plague that has forced the temporary closure of several check-in counters and raised concerns about the lack of hygiene and safety at Spain's busiest airport.

The situation, described as " unsustainable " by unions and employees, is aggravated by the presence of hundreds of homeless people who spend the night at the airport, which according to the workers makes it difficult to control the unsanitary conditions and encourages the proliferation of insects.

Spain prosecutors appeal 'irrational' Alves rape conviction reversal

Spanish prosecutors on Wednesday said they were appealing at the Supreme Court the "irrational" reversal of ex-Brazil and Barcelona star Dani Alves' rape conviction, alleging it "morally convicted" the accuser by questioning her honesty.

Alves was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in jail in February last year after being found guilty of raping a young woman in the VIP bathroom of a Barcelona nightclub on December 31, 2022.

But a Barcelona appeals court overturned the lower court's ruling on March 28, outraging feminist groups and some members of Spain's left-wing government.

It said the trial had inconsistencies and contradictions and that there was insufficient evidence to prove the guilt of Alves, who had always maintained the sexual relations were consensual.

In a written submission seen by AFP on Wednesday, the public prosecutor's office criticised a "thoughtless and irrational assessment" of some of the evidence by the court.

The court's conclusions are "completely wrong and irrational, even arbitrary", especially regarding the claimed disparity between the victim's account and her behaviour captured on camera, the prosecutors wrote.

"It would appear to recover the medieval assumption of 'the women who agrees to get drunk with a man consents to everything'. That is not the case, she only agrees to get drunk," they added.

With extra reporting from AFP.