 "'No substitute to peace': India calls for ceasefire in Gaza, release of Israeli hostages held by Hamas")
India has called for a ceasefire in Gaza, saying that intermittent pauses in hostilities are not enough, considering the scale of humanitarian crisis that has struck the region.
India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Harish P., delivered an address at the UN Security Council Quarterly Open Debate on the Situation in the Middle East, where he also said that all the remaining Israeli hostages must be released immediately.
“The way ahead is clear, and India has been consistent in this regard. The ongoing human suffering must not be allowed to continue. Humanitarian assistance needs to be facilitated in a safe, sustained and timely manner. There is no substitute to peace. A ceasefire must be put in place. All hostages must be released. Dialogue and diplomacy remain the only viable paths to achieving these objectives. There are no other fixes or solutions,” he said.
Of the 251 hostages taken during Hamas’s 2023 attack, 49 are still being held in Gaza, including 27 the Israeli military says are dead.
#IndiaAtUN
— India at UN, NY (@IndiaUNNewYork) July 23, 2025
PR @AmbHarishP delivered 🇮🇳’s statement at the @UN Security Council Quarterly Open Debate on the Situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian question. @MEAIndia @IndianDiplomacy pic.twitter.com/T7NNvIXzqk
India officially backs a two-state solution for Palestine, where a sovereign, independent and viable State of Palestine should be established within secure and recognised borders, living alongside Israel with peace.
What’s going on with Gaza truce?
Hamas confirmed on Thursday that it has responded to an Israeli proposal for a 60-day ceasefire in Gaza, after more than two weeks of indirect talks in Qatar have failed to yield a truce.
“Hamas has just submitted its response and that of the Palestinian factions to the ceasefire proposal to the mediators,” the Palestinian militant group said in a statement on Telegram.The response included proposed amendments to clauses on the entry of aid, maps of areas from which the Israeli army should withdraw, and guarantees on securing a permanent end to the war, according to a Palestinian source familiar with ongoing talks in Doha.
Impact Shorts
More ShortsNegotiators from both sides have been holding indirect talks in Doha with mediators in an attempt to reach an agreement on a truce deal that would see the release of Israeli hostages.
With inputs from agencies
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