Israel war should not escalate: Modi at G20

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday said that the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas should not escalate into a regional conflict, condemned both terrorism and the death of civilians, welcomed the news of the release of Israeli and American hostages, and expressed the hope that all hostages will be released soon.

- Rahul Singh

Speaking at a virtual meeting of G20 leaders, the final major event during India’s presidency of the grouping, Modi reiterated India’s careful and balanced position on the conflict, asserting that terrorism was “unacceptable”, and the death of civilians “anywhere” was “condemnable”.

“We welcome the news of the release of hostages today, and hope for the swift release of all hostages. Ensuring the timely and continuous delivery of humanitarian aid is imperative. It is also crucial to ensure that the conflict between Israel and Hamas does not take on any kind of regional form,” Modi said, drawing attention to the instability in West Asia.

His comments came on a day the two warring sides, with help from the US, Qatar and Egypt, agreed to a four-day ceasefire in Gaza as a part of a wider package deal that involved the release of a set of hostages in Gaza and Palestinian prisoners in Israeli prisons. They also come in the backdrop of rising global outrage against Israel’s response to the Hamas terror attacks.

“It is important that humanitarian assistance reaches [Gaza] in a timely manner,” Modi said in his opening remarks at the virtual leaders’ summit, a follow-up to the in-person summit held in New Delhi on September 9-10. India hands over the G20 presidency to Brazil on December 1.

The war erupted after Hamas militants launched an audacious assault against Israel on October 7 and Tel Aviv responded with a massive bombing campaign and ground invasion of Gaza. India has condemned the terror attack, but also highlighted the need to protect civilian lives in the Gaza strip, and reaffirmed its support for a two-state solution to resolve the decades-old Israel-Palestine conflict and bring lasting peace to the troubled region.