A ruling, a rumour, a rush: What happened before thousands crossed into Spain’s Ceuta enclave from Morocco

Videos from the Spanish enclave of Ceuta on Thursday showed hundreds of people swimming across a sliver of Mediterranean water on inner tubes and buoys, walking around the breakwaters of Tarajal beach, and rushing through a broken border gate as young men shouted "Viva España!"By Friday, the Spanish interior ministry said at least 18 migrants had died attempting the crossing, up from an earlier count of nine, and the surge had prompted the government to deploy the armed forces to reinforce the border.Spanish state television TVE reported that between 2,000 and 3,000 people had crossed into Ceuta on Thursday alone — one of the largest single-day surges since 2021 into the small autonomous city of 85,000 residents.Ceuta, a Spanish possession since 1580, is perched on a historical isthmus on the Mediterranean coast of north Africa.