New Delhi: While stating that the scale of the loss of civilian lives in the Israel-Hamas war is “unacceptable”, India asserted that the trigger for the war Hamas’s terror attack and called for the unconditional release of hostages held by the Palestinian militant group.
Speaking at the UN General Assembly on Tuesday (January 9), India’s permanent representative to the UN Ruchira Kamboj said that the ongoing conflict had “led to [the] 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.
But she added that India was “aware that the immediate trigger [was] 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,” she said.
The Indian statement was made at a session that took place under the UN General Assembly’s mandate to meet within 10 working days after a veto in the UN Security Council.
On December 22, the US had vetoed an amendment by Russia that called for the cessation of hostilities in Gaza. Following that, the UN Security Council passed a resolution to increase humanitarian aid to the besieged Palestinian territory, with a vote of 13 in favour and the United States and Russia abstaining.
The Indian statement praised the United Arab Emirates for piloting the resolution in the Security Council.
Stating that the Indian leadership was in touch with its counterparts in Israel and Palestine, Kamboj claimed that India’s message had been “clear and consistent” from the start of the conflict.
She also reiterated that India believes “that only a Two-State solution, achieved through direct and meaningful negotiations between both sides on final status issues, will deliver an enduring peace that the people of Israel and Palestine desire and deserve.”
Last month, India had voted in favour of a resolution in the UN General Assembly calling for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza. The resolution was passed by an overwhelming majority.
This marked a shift in India’s approach, following its abstention on another General Assembly resolution that called for cessation of hostilities in October last year.
While India has supported a call for a ceasefire in Gaza through its voting, it consistently avoids explicitly mentioning the same in its national statements.