India calls for de-escalation of Israel-Hamas conflict

Washington India has said that the Israel-Hamas conflict is resulting in a “large scale loss of civilian lives” and an “alarming humanitarian crisis” that is “unacceptable”, and while stressing that there must be “zero-tolerance” for terrorism, has called for a peaceful resolution through diplomacy and dialogue as the only way out.
Reiterating its commitment to the two-State solution and calling for all sides to de-escalate, India also said it is in touch with both Israel and Palestine as well as other nations from the region.
New Delhi’s position at the United Nations General Assembly was laid out by India’s permanent representative to the UN Ruchira Kamboj late on Tuesday (local time).
While India abstained on the first UNGA vote calling for a ceasefire in the wake of Hamas’s attack on Israel and Tel Aviv’s military offensive in October, it voted for a resolution calling for a ceasefire in December as the ground realities shifted and the scale of Israel’s offensive caused global outrage.
Also Read | Israeli forces kill 40 fighters in Gaza’s Khan Younis, military says
On Tuesday, Kamboj said that India had taken note of the UN Security Resolution aimed to scale up humanitarian assistance to Gaza and praised the UAE’s leadership in shepherding the resolution through the council. The UAE is among India’s closest strategic partners.
“The ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas has led to large scale loss of civilian lives, especially women and children, and has resulted in an alarming humanitarian crisis. This is clearly unacceptable and we have strongly condemned the death of civilians,” she said. Over 23,000 people have been killed as a result of the conflict.
But India made it a point to recall the origins of the current phase of the conflict, reiterating its position on terror as well as acknowledging that Hamas has taken hostages.
“We are aware that the immediate trigger were the terror attacks in Israel on 7th October, which were shocking and deserve our unequivocal condemnation. India has a zero-tolerance approach to terrorism. There can be no justifications for terrorism and hostage taking. Our thoughts are with those who have been taken as hostages and demand their immediate and unconditional release,” Kamboj said.
She then added that the Indian leadership is in “constant touch with the leaders of the region, including those of Israel and Palestine” and had voiced its views on several platforms.
India pointed out that it had provided 70 tonnes of humanitarian aid including 16.5 tonnes of medicine and medical supplies in two tranches to the people of Palestine and provided $5 million to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) to support education, health care, relief and social services provided to Palestinian refugees.
“The message that India has conveyed since the start of this conflict is clear and consistent – it is important to prevent escalation, to ensure continued delivery of humanitarian aid and to work towards an early restoration of peace and stability. A peaceful resolution of the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy is the only way forward,” Kamboj said.
Outlining its stance on what is turning out to be a prolonged and seemingly intractable conflict, India reiterated it was firmly committed to the “two-State solution, achieved through direct and meaningful negotiations between both sides on final status issues”, as the pathway to deliver “enduring peace”. “For this, we urge the parties to de-escalate, eschew violence and work towards creating conditions for an early resumption of direct peace negotiations,” Kamboj said.