Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez stated on Monday that there are indications Russia and Israel were behind the spread of disinformation concerning Spain's migration policy, which led to a significant influx of migrants into Ceuta last month. He emphasized that there is no evidence of Moroccan authorities' involvement.

Between July 30 and July 31, over 72,000 migrants crossed from Morocco into the Spanish territory of Ceuta, an unprecedented event at one of the European Union's land borders with Africa. Ceuta's local authorities reported at least 100 deaths during these attempts.

Sanchez refuted accusations from Spanish opposition parties and some human rights organizations that Rabat deliberately permitted the mass crossing, a claim Morocco has denied. "When people talk and speculate about the participation of Moroccan authorities, I deny this outright," Sanchez told radio station SER.

Spanish authorities have indicated that misleading information circulated on social media platforms like Instagram and TikTok, falsely suggesting that migrants reaching Ceuta by sea could remain in Spain. This fueled thousands of attempts to cross the border.

Sanchez reported that research conducted by the EU's diplomatic service, EEAS, pointed to Russian and Israeli networks collaborating with far-right networks in spreading the disinformation. He suggested that these countries used the crisis to criticize Madrid due to dissatisfaction with Spain's stance on the wars in Ukraine and Gaza, though he did not provide further details on the evidence.

Roughly 5,000 migrants have remained in Ceuta since the border surge, leading to near-daily local protests against the government's management of the situation. Sporadic attacks against a makeshift migrant camp have also been reported.

In response to the crisis, Sanchez announced that the cabinet would allocate an additional €168 million (approximately $195 million) in emergency funds to help reactivate Ceuta's economy. This sum is equivalent to 8% of the enclave's gross domestic product and is in addition to €180 million previously pledged for medium-term recovery efforts.