By JACKSON MUTINDA
New Delhi.
India has said that the October 2023 attack on Israel by the Hamas militant group was terrorism, but says a sustainable humanitarian corridor in Gaza is needed to ease the crisis there due to the ongoing war.
India’s External Affairs Minister, Dr Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, said the October 7, 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas should be condemned, but argued that humanitarian laws must be followed in dealing with the issue.
“India’s position has been that October 7 was an act of terrorism, and we cannot condone hostage taking,” he told journalists in New Delhi on Monday.
“But it is also our position that, in dealing with it, it’s imperative to be very sensitive to and conscious of the civilian casualties. We know there’s ongoing negotiations on hostage versus prisoner swapping, but we are very concerned about the state that appertains to Gaza. There’s a need to create a sustainable humanitarian corridor and there should be relief and rehabilitation provided to those affected.”
He said India has long advocated the two-state solution, a position held by many other countries around the world, including Kenya, to create a state of Palestine existing side by side with Israel.
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“We had Palestinian diplomatic presence in India as far back as 1976, initially as PLO (Palestinian Liberation Organisation),” he said.
Dr Jaishankar was speaking to journalists from the Indo-Pacific region who are on a Quad familiarisation tour of the country. The Quad is a plurilateral framework comprising India, Australia, Japan and the United States. The Quad countries share a commitment to a free, open, prosperous and peaceful Indo-Pacific region based on the principles of respect for sovereignty, territorial integrity, international law and the rules-based international order.
His call came as Israeli forces continued to bomb Gaza, resulting in civilian deaths, displacement and destruction of homes. Rocket fire by Palestinian armed groups into Israel has also been reported.
At least 40,000 people have died in Gaza since the war began, a day after the Israelis were caught off-guard by Hamas on October 7, killing 1,139 people, including 815 civilians. Hamas also took 251 people hostage during its initial assault on Israel.
On August 15, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, described the situation in Gaza as “unimaginable and overwhelming, “due to recurring failures by the Israeli Defence Forces to comply with the rules of war.”
According to the UN, at least 10,627 children were among the civilians killed in 10 months. More than 170,000 people are sheltering in 122 IDP sites, makeshift shelters and collective centres affected by the Israeli military’s August 16 evacuation order, according to the Site Management Working Group.
However, commercial food shipments into Gaza increased in July compared to June, according to the Famine Early Warning System Network.
“The scale of the Israeli military’s destruction of homes, hospitals, schools and places of worship is deeply shocking. Our Office has documented serious violations of IHL (international humanitarian law) by both the Israeli military and Palestinian armed groups, including the armed wing of Hamas,” Türk said.
UN Secretary-General António Guterres has also condemned the “continued loss of life in Gaza” and reiterated the “urgent call for an immediate ceasefire and the unconditional release of all hostages… the need to ensure the protection of civilians and for unimpeded and safe humanitarian access into and across Gaza”.
The UN chief said that “international humanitarian law, including the principles of distinction, proportionality and precaution in attacks, must be upheld at all times”.
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