Prime Minister Narendra Modi told Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that India condemns terrorism in all forms and reiterated the need to ensure safe release of all hostages held in Gaza Strip over a phone call on Monday.
The Prime Minister in a social media post said that he told his Israeli counterpart that prevention of escalation of hostilities in the West Asia region remains crucial while expressing support for efforts for early restoration of peace.
Tensions are high in West Asia as Israel has, in recent days, been mounting heavy air strikes in Lebanon against the “Axis of Resistance”, a network of Iran-aligned militant groups in the region, including in Syria, Yemen and Iraq. An Israeli strike on Beirut Friday killed Hassan Nasrallah, the head of the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah that has been armed and financed by the Islamic republic for years. Lebanese authorities say the airstrikes have killed hundreds of people and displaced thousands.
Hezbollah began low-intensity cross-border strikes on Israeli troops a day after Hamas staged its unprecedented attack on Israel.
“Spoke to Prime Minister @netanyahu about recent developments in West Asia. Terrorism has no place in our world. It is crucial to prevent regional escalation and ensure the safe release of all hostages. India is committed to supporting efforts for an early restoration of peace and stability,” PM Modi said after the phone call with the Israeli counterpart.
PM Modi reiterated that terrorism has no place ‘in our world’ and said hostages held should be released, referring to hostages captured by Palestinian militant group Hamas and Palestinian Jihad roughly a year ago in the October 7 attack that triggered the war in Gaza and resulted in the deaths of 1,205 people on the Israeli side, most of them civilians, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures, which includes hostages killed in captivity.
PM Modi recently met Palestinian President and Fatah’s leader Mahmoud Abbas on the sidelines of an UN event in New York at the request of the Palestinian side. In that meeting, he pledged India’s “unwavering support” to the people of Palestine and discussed India’s “support to Palestine at the United Nations”, according to the government readout of the meeting.
Out of 251 people taken hostage that day, 97 are still being held inside the Gaza Strip, including 33 who the Israeli military says are dead.
“The Prime Minister expressed deep concern at the humanitarian crisis unfolding in Gaza and the deteriorating security situation in the region and reaffirmed India’s unwavering support to the people of Palestine, including continued humanitarian assistance”.
Israel’s retaliatory military campaign has killed at least 41,534 people in Gaza, the majority of them women and children, according to figures provided by the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory. The vast majority of the besieged Gaza Strip’s 2.4 million people have been displaced at least once by the war.
“Mr. Modi emphasised that only a two-State solution would deliver peace, as he called for a ceasefire between Israel and Palestine, the release of hostages, and a return to diplomacy and dialogue,” the readout further said.
The engagements come as India tries to position itself as a broker of peace as conflicts across the world grow. India has also offered its support for efforts to restore peace in Ukraine and PM Modi has met the Ukrainian and Russian Presidents on separate occasions, urging them to resolve issues diplomatically instead of trying to solve them on the battlefield.
