Spain and Ireland on Wednesday asked the European Union to "urgently" examine whether Israel is complying with its human rights obligations in Gaza under an accord linking rights to trade ties.

The move reflects growing European frustration over the spiraling humanitarian catastrophe in Gaza, for the first time evoking the prospect of economic sanctions, albeit obliquely.

In a letter, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and his Irish counterpart Leo Varadkar asked the European Commission to "act urgently," with Israel poised to launch a full-scale ground operation into the southern city of Rafah where more than 1.4 million Palestinians are trapped.