 "Israel-Hamas ceasefire: India readies humanitarian aid, material for rebuilding Gaza")
India is preparing a consignment of relief goods for Palestinian people in Gaza, after Israel and Gaza reached a ceasefire agreement, which saw all the living hostages being released earlier this week.
The development comes after Minister of State for External Affairs Kirti Vardhan Singh attended the Gaza Peace Summit hosted by US President Donald Trump in Egypt. According to a report by the Indian Express, Delhi will first send humanitarian assistance in the form of medicines, food, tents, blankets, women’s sanitary items, and baby formula to Gaza, following which it will also contribute resources to rebuild the region.
“India stands for peace in the Middle East and resolution of issues through dialogue and diplomacy. We support the Gaza peace plan of President Trump and appreciate Egypt and Qatar for their valuable roles in achieving this and advancing the path to peace,” MEA said on Tuesday.
With a fragile ceasefire now in place in Gaza, Delhi is closely monitoring the next steps, including security arrangements through the proposed International Stabilisation Force, the disarmament and demilitarisation of Hamas, and the establishment of a governance structure under the Board of Peace, to be led by Trump and former UK Prime Minister Tony Blair.
Jaco Cilliers, an official at the United Nations Development Programme, has told Reuters that Israeli strikes in Gaza generated at least 55 million tonnes of rubble, 13 times more material than required to build the pyramids of Giza. The UNDP has said that it could take decades for Gaza to recover fully and that some 81,000 tonnes of rubble from the Gaza Strip have been removed so far.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsMeanwhile, Trump said Tuesday that “we will disarm” Hamas if the Palestinian militants refuse to do it themselves, as he called for the group to release the bodies of hostages in Gaza.
“They’re going to disarm, because they said they were going to disarm. And if they don’t disarm, we will disarm them,” Trump told reporters at the White House about Hamas, hours after returning from Israel and Egypt.
“It will happen quickly and perhaps violently, but they will disarm.”
Hamas has so far refused to disarm despite it being a key part of the next phase of Trump’s 20-point plan for a ceasefire and longer-term peace agreement in West Asia.
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