“Simply unacceptable”: India condemns dire humanitarian crisis in Gaza as Israel-Hamas war intensifies

Amid Israel’s military action in Gaza against Hamas, India has strongly condemned the civilian deaths in the ongoing conflict and said that the resulting humanitarian crisis in the region is “simply unacceptable.”

“The conflict in Gaza has been going on for over seven months, and the humanitarian crisis it has triggered has been increasing. There is also the potential for growing instability in the region and beyond. In this context, we view the UNSC’s adoption of resolution 2728 as a positive step,” India’s permanent representative to UN, Ruchira Kamboj said at the 10th UNGA Emergency Special Session on Palestine.

“India’s position on the conflict has been clearly articulated on more than one occasion by our leadership: One, the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas has led to a large-scale loss of civilian lives, especially women and children. The resulting humanitarian crisis is simply unacceptable. We have strongly condemned the deaths of civilians in the conflict. International law and international humanitarian law must be respected by everyone under all circumstances,” she added.

Highlighting the October 7 attack on Israel, Kamboj also asserted that the Hamas attack on Israel also deserves equivocal condemnation of the forum and that there is no justification for terrorism and hostage-taking.

“The terror attacks in Israel on 7 October were shocking, and they deserve our unequivocal condemnation. There can be no justification for terrorism and hostage-taking. India has a longstanding and uncompromising position against terrorism in all its forms and manifestations, and we demand the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages,” she said.

“The humanitarian situation in Gaza is dire. Humanitarian aid to the people of Gaza must be scaled up immediately to avert a further deterioration in the situation. We urge all parties to come together in this endeavour. We welcome the efforts of the UN and the international community in this regard. India has provided humanitarian aid to the people of Palestine and will continue to do so. We note the recent facilitation of greater flow of humanitarian aid into Gaza by the Israeli authorities,” she added.

Reiterating India’s stand on the two-state solution of the matter, she also urged the conflicting parties to engage as soon as possible for direct peace negotiations.

“My leadership has repeatedly emphasized that only a Two-State solution, achieved through direct and meaningful negotiations between both sides on final status issues, will deliver an enduring peace,” she said.

“India is committed to supporting a Two-State solution where the Palestinian people can live freely in an independent country within secure borders, with due regard to the security needs of Israel. To arrive at a lasting solution, we urge all parties to foster conditions conducive to resuming direct peace negotiations at an early date,” she added.

Additionally, India also reaffirmed its support for the Palestinian bid for full membership at the United Nations and hoped that the respective application of Palestine would be reconsidered by the forum.

“In keeping with our longstanding position, we support the membership of Palestine at the UN and therefore, we have voted in favour of this Resolution. We hope that Palestine’s application will be reconsidered by the Security Council in due course and that Palestine’s endeavour to become a member of the UN will get endorsed,” she said.