The head of state welcomed Housni Abdel Wahed to the royal palace in Madrid for the traditional ceremony for newly appointed foreign ambassadors to Spain, according to images published by the royal palace on social network X.

Wahed had been the head of the Palestinian diplomatic mission in Madrid since 2022 and he enjoyed a similar status to that of an ambassador but he officially changed rank after Spain along with Ireland and Norway formally recognised a Palestinian state comprising the Gaza Strip and the West Bank.

The three countries said at the time they hoped their decision would spur other European countries to follow suit and accelerate efforts towards securing a ceasefire in Israel’s war against Hamas in Gaza.

Israel has condemned the decision, saying it bolsters Hamas, the militant Islamist group that led the October 7th attack on Israel that triggered the war in the Hamas-governed Gaza Strip.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, one of the staunchest critics in Europe of Israel’s Gaza offensive, announced earlier this month that a bilateral summit between Spain and Palestine would be held before the end of the year.

The October 7th attack that sparked the war resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.

Militants also seized 251 hostages, 97 of whom are still held in Gaza, including 33 the Israeli military says are dead.

Israel’s retaliatory military offensive has so far killed at least 41,226 people in Gaza, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.