At least 34 migrants died trying to reach the Spanish territory of Ceuta as tens of thousands breached the frontier with Morocco, prompting Spain to deploy its military. Some 60,000 migrants entered Ceuta, equivalent to 70% of the city's population, according to Ceuta President Juan Jesús Vivas. Spain's Interior Ministry said more than 25,000 migrants have been sent back at a rate of 150 per minute.

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez called the events "an attack" and "a violation of Spain's territorial integrity," condemning them at the "strongest possible level." Rachid Sbihi, a local workers association leader, described a "serious humanitarian crisis" with thousands of migrants, including unaccompanied children, sleeping in parks.

The chaos had ripple effects in Italy, where Premier Giorgia Meloni threatened to suspend the Schengen agreement with Spain. Ceuta, along with Melilla, shares the European Union's only land borders with Africa and has been in Spanish possession since 1580.