New York:
India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations Ruchira Kamboj strongly condemned the loss of civilian lives in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas and said the alarming humanitarian crisis was 'clearly unacceptable'.
“The ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas has led to widespread loss of civilian lives, especially women and children, and resulted in an alarming humanitarian crisis. This is clearly unacceptable and we strongly condemned the deaths of civilians. At the same time, we are aware that the immediate trigger was the terrorist attacks in Israel on October 7, which were shocking and deserve our unequivocal condemnation. India has a zero-tolerance approach to terrorism,” Ms. Kamboj said.
“The message 🇮🇳 has conveyed since the beginning of this conflict is clear and consistent… a peaceful resolution of the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy is the only way forward…”
– PR at today's UNGA meeting on the situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian issue pic.twitter.com/41nXLPtPBd
— India at the UN, NY (@IndiaUNNewYork) January 9, 2024
Addressing the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on the prevailing situation in West Asia, Ms. Kamboj highlighted India's continued efforts to normalize the current situation in the region and expand humanitarian assistance in Gaza.
“India's leadership is in constant contact with the leaders of the region, including those of Israel and Palestine. We have also expressed our views in multilateral fora such as the G20, the BRICS, and at the Global South Summit in November 2023.”, and we have reiterated our long-standing and principal position on this issue. We have also called for continued the humanitarian assistance to the affected population and in this regard we hope that Security Council Resolution 2720 would help in increasing humanitarian assistance,” India's Permanent Envoy to the UN added.
“India has so far provided 70 tonnes of humanitarian aid, including 16.5 tonnes of medicines and medical supplies in two tranches, to the people of Palestine. We have also provided $5 million, including the $2.5 million we provided at the end of December. 2023 to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, which will support the agency's core programs and services, including education, health, relief and social services to Palestinian refugees,” Kamboj further said.
India's Permanent Representative to the world body reiterated the two-state solution and said peaceful resolution of the conflict through dialogue and diplomacy was the only way forward.
“The message that India has conveyed since the beginning of this conflict has been clear and consistent. It is important to prevent escalation, to ensure the continued delivery of humanitarian assistance and to work towards an early restoration of peace and stability. Conflict through dialogue and diplomacy is the only way forward,” Kamboj said.
“By reaffirming India's firm commitment to achieving a just, peaceful and lasting solution to the Israeli-Palestinian issue. We firmly believe that only a two-state solution achieved through direct and meaningful negotiations between the two sides on final status issues will deliver lasting peace. that the people of Israel and Palestine desire and deserve. “We therefore urge the parties to de-escalate, avoid violence and work to create conditions for an early resumption of direct peace negotiations,” she added.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)