Overview
- The surge on Friday, July 31, left Spain's Interior Ministry estimating roughly 49,000 people had arrived in Ceuta and officials said arrivals were continuing.
- Local authorities declared an absolute humanitarian and social emergency after reception centres were overrun and hundreds of people were forced to sleep on the streets.
- Officials and witnesses reported mass crossings that breached border barriers by sea and land, and Spanish statements said Moroccan security forces were assisting efforts to contain the flows.
- Authorities reported at least 18 to 19 deaths at sea in the most recent 24-hour period as people attempted the crossing in small boats.
- Madrid sent about 200 special police and 60 military personnel to Ceuta and the episode has raised EU tensions by reviving 2021 border concerns and debates over Spain's migration policies.