Did Pedro Sánchez ‘regret’ not having ‘nuclear bombs’ to stop the war in Gaza?

A handful of Spanish media reported on Monday that Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez had expressed “regret” that his country did not have “nuclear bombs” to stop Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.

An article by newspaper La Gaceta was headlined: “Pedro Sánchez regrets not having nuclear weapons to ‘stop’ the Israeli response to Hamas.”

“Sánchez regrets not having nuclear arms to prevent the ‘genocide’ in Gaza,” media outlet OK diario wrote.

But a closer examination of Sánchez’s comments shows that, while the headlines cannot be considered incorrect, they have been taken out of context and sensationalised.

The Spanish premier explained that, although lacking a large military force, Spain was using the mechanisms at its disposal to curb the Israeli offensive in Gaza, where the Palestinian death toll now exceeds 64,000 according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

“Spain, as you know, doesn't have nuclear bombs, aircraft carriers, or large oil reserves,” Sánchez explained. “We alone can't stop the Israeli offensive. But that doesn't mean we won't stop trying. Because there are causes worth fighting for, even if winning them isn't in our sole power.”

He then went on to outline some of the measures adopted by Spain over the last two years in order to put pressure on the government of his Israeli counterpart, Benjamin Netanyahu, and alleviate the suffering of civilians in Gaza.

These include humanitarian support for Gaza, the suspension of military equipment sales to Israel and the recent recognition of a Palestinian state.

His comments came while announcing nine further fresh measures, including an all-out arms embargo on Israel and a ban on the import of products from Israel’s illegal settlements.

But Sánchez’s political opponents were swift to accuse him of siding with Hamas, a designated terrorist organisation whose October 7 attacks on Israel initially triggered the war in Gaza.

The leader of the far-right party Vox, Santiago Abascal, claimed that “Sánchez would like to have nuclear weapons … but not to defend Spain. To defend Hamas.”

A spokesperson for the centre-right Popular Party (PP) also questioned what Sánchez had meant with his reference to nuclear arms: “A nuclear bomb on Tel Aviv? Is that what he intends to do?” Carlos Díaz-Pache, the party’s spokesperson in the Assembly of Madrid, asked.

Right-wing commentators have also been quick to judge the premier’s comments.

But claims that Sánchez would support a nuclear attack against Israel, or has encouraged a nuclear war against Israel, are inaccurate. Euroverify detected these misleading claims circulating in several languages on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and X.