New York: India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ruchira Kamboj, strongly condemned the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, particularly emphasising the significant civilian casualties, especially among women and children. Addressing the United Nations General Assembly, Kamboj labelled the resulting humanitarian crisis as 'clearly unacceptable'.

An Alarming Humanitarian Crisis: India's Permanent UN Representative 

"The ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas has led to a large-scale loss of civilian lives, especially women and children, resulting in an alarming humanitarian crisis. This is clearly unacceptable, and we strongly condemn the deaths of civilians," stated Kamboj.

She acknowledged the October 7 Hamas attack as the triggering moment that led to the crisis in Gaza, stating, “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, via her statement, also highlighted India's stance against terrorism. Additionally, the Permanent Representative underlined India's consistent efforts to engage with regional leaders, including those from Israel and Palestine. She also mentioned India's participation in various multilateral forums such as the G20, BRICS, and the Global South Summit in November 2023.

India has been actively providing humanitarian aid to Gaza and has advocated for continued support to the affected population. Kamboj highlighted India's contributions, which included 70 tonnes of humanitarian aid, comprising 16.5 tonnes of medicine and medical supplies delivered in two shipments to the people of Palestine. Additionally, India provided USD 5 million, including a recent USD 2.5 million contribution in December 2023 to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine refugees in the Near East. This aid is aimed at supporting core programs and services such as education, healthcare, and relief services for Palestinian refugees.

Reiterating India's stance on the ongoing issue, Kamboj spoke on the necessity of a two-state solution, emphasising that a peaceful resolution through dialogue and diplomacy is the sole path forward. “The message that India has conveyed since the start of this conflict is clear & consistent…a peaceful resolution of the conflict through dialogue & diplomacy is the only way forward...”, the Indian Envoy said.

 She underscored the importance of preventing escalation, ensuring humanitarian aid delivery, and striving for peace and stability.

"By reaffirming India’s firm commitment to achieving a just, peaceful, and lasting solution to the Israel-Palestine issue, we firmly believe 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. 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 added.