Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez has defended comments he made about the Israeli offensive in Gaza which angered Israel, saying “it was a question of being humane”, AFP reports.

Visiting the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt on Friday with Belgian Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, Sanchez said the “indiscriminate killings of innocent civilians” in the Palestinian territory was “completely unacceptable”.

The Israeli foreign ministry swiftly summoned the ambassadors of Spain and Belgium for a “harsh rebuke” over comments by the two countries’ leaders, accusing them of supporting “terrorism”.

“Condemning the vile terrorist attacks of Hamas and at the same condemning the indiscriminate killing of Palestinians in Gaza, is not a question of political parties nor of ideology, it is a question of being humane,” Sanchez told a gathering of his Socialist party in Madrid to applause from the audience.