India on Wednesday strongly condemned the loss of lives in the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas, calling it an “alarming humanitarian crisis”. Addressing a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), India’s permanent representative to the United Nations Ruchira Kamboj said the only way to a peaceful resolution to the conflict is through “dialogue and diplomacy”.
“The ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas has led to a 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 deaths of civilians. At the same time, we are aware that the immediate trigger was the terror attacks in Israel on October 7, which were shocking and deserve our unequivocal condemnation. India has a zero-tolerance approach to terrorism,” Kamboj said during the UNGA meeting.
Addressing a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on the prevailing situation in West Asia, Kamboj highlighted India’s continuous efforts to normalise the ongoing situation in the region and extend humanitarian aid in Gaza.
“The leadership of India is in constant touch with the leaders of the region, including those of Israel and Palestine. We’ve also voiced our views in multilateral forums such as the G20, the BRICS, and at the Global South Summit in November 2023, and we have reiterated our longstanding and principal position on the issue. We have also called for continued humanitarian aid for the affected population and in this regard, we hope that Security Council Resolution 2720 would aid in enhancing humanitarian assistance,” India’s permanent envoy to the UN added.
In her speech, Kamboj informed that India has so far provided 70 tonnes of humanitarian aid, including 16.5 tonnes of medicine and medical supplies in two tranches, to the people of Palestine. “We’ve also provided US dollars 5 million, including the USD 2.5 million we provided in end December 2023 to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees in the Near east, which will go to support the agency’s core programs and services, including education, health care, relief and social services provided to Palestinian refugees,” she further added.
Meanwhile, the United States defended its veto of a call for the immediate suspension of hostilities in Gaza at a UN meeting Tuesday and again faced demands by the Palestinians and many other countries for a cease-fire now in the Israel-Hamas war as well as by a group of rabbis in the gallery.
US deputy ambassador Robert Wood called the Russian-proposed amendment to a Dec. 22 Security Council resolution which it vetoed disconnected from the situation on the ground. The council then adopted a watered-down resolution, with the US abstaining, calling for urgent steps to immediately allow expanded humanitarian aid into Gaza, and to create conditions for a sustainable cessation of hostilities.
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