EMPATHISING WITH the people in Gaza, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who is on visit to Saudi Arabia, on Monday told ministers from the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) that the current situation in Gaza is the “foremost concern” and that “any response must take into account the principles of humanitarian law” — an oblique reference to Israeli military offensive targeting civilians in the Hamas-controlled Palestinian territory.
The statement is significant since India had initially backed Israel for being the victim of terrorist acts by Hamas, and later nuanced its position by talking about the plight of the Palestinians. The latest statement is a clearer articulation of Delhi’s concerns about the civilians in Gaza.
Speaking at the first India-GCC Ministerial Meeting for Strategic Dialogue in Riyadh, Jaishankar said, “The current situation in Gaza is now understandably our foremost concern. India’s position in this regard has been principled and consistent. While we condemn acts of terrorism and hostage taking, we are deeply pained by the continuing death of innocent civilians. Any response must take into account the principles of humanitarian law. We support a ceasefire as soon as possible.”
“On the larger issue, we have consistently stood for a resolution of the Palestinian issue through a two-State solution. We have also contributed to the building of Palestinian institutions and capacities. Where the humanitarian situation is concerned, we have provided relief and increased our support to UNRWA,” he said.
Jaishankar, who met the Foreign Ministers of GCC countries — a regional grouping comprising Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE — thanked the GCC countries for taking care of the large Indian diaspora in their countries. After the meeting, they adopted a “Joint Action Plan 2024-2028” for undertaking various joint activities in diverse areas such as health, trade, security, energy among others.
Barring the stray reference to condemnation of acts of terrorism and hostage taking, there was no defence of the Israeli military offensive that began after the October 7 attacks by Hamas on the Israeli civilians and military personnel. The thrust of the statement was about the people in Gaza.
Around 1,200 people were killed in the October 7 attacks by Hamas, and about 250 Israelis and foreign nationals were taken hostage. The Israeli military offensive, which began with aerial strikes and was later followed by ground operations in Gaza, is estimated to have killed more than 40,000 people in Gaza, including women and children and Hamas combatants. After 11 months, there are still about 100 people held as hostages by Hamas, and there is no end in sight for the Israel-Hamas war.
However, this is not the first time since India has expressed its concern on the Israeli offensive.
On March 1 this year, a day after more than 100 people were killed and over 700 injured in an incident during the delivery of humanitarian aid in northern Gaza, India had said it was “deeply shocked” at the loss of lives.
The Ministry of External Affairs had said at that time, “We are deeply shocked at the loss of lives in northern Gaza yesterday during delivery of humanitarian assistance. Such loss of civilian lives and the larger humanitarian situation in Gaza continues to be a cause for extreme concern.”
While Delhi had issued the statement expressing deep shock, it did not condemn nor did it name Israel in the statement.
On June 10, the day after the Modi government was sworn in for the third term, India had signed on a scathing and sharply-worded statement by the BRICS Foreign Ministers — they had met in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia — on the Israel-Hamas war.
The BRICS statement, which was signed by the Indian representative (Jaishankar did not attend the meeting), had said, “The Ministers expressed grave concern at the deterioration of the situation in the Occupied Palestinian Territory, in particular the unprecedented escalation of violence in the Gaza Strip as a result of the Israeli military operation that led to mass civilian displacement, death and casualties, and destruction of civilian infrastructure.”
“In this regard they called for the effective implementation of the relevant UNGA resolutions and UNSC resolution 2720 and for immediate safe and unhindered delivery of humanitarian assistance at scale directly to the Palestinian civilian population throughout the Gaza Strip. They also called for the effective implementation of the UNSC resolution 2728 for an immediate, durable, and sustained ceasefire. They equally called for the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and civilians who are being illegally held captive,” the statement had said.
“They expressed grave concern by the increasing attacks by Israel on Rafah, which would compound the dire humanitarian situation. The Ministers further condemned the Israeli military operation in Rafah and its ramifications that directly impact the civilian lives, especially in view of the high density of Palestinian civilians in this location, and the humanitarian catastrophic results due to the suspension of the Rafah crossing from the Palestinian side… Furthermore, they cautioned against the spillover effects of escalation of tensions to the rest of the Middle East region… The Ministers expressed serious concern at Israel’s continued blatant disregard of international law, the UN Charter, UN resolutions and Court orders.”
