With Israel expanding its ground operations in Gaza, Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar has backed a two-state solution for long-lasting peace in the conflict-ridden region of the Middle East.
India's top diplomat stressed the need to begin diplomatic talks to defuse the crisis, which started after the Palestinian military movement stormed the Israeli border to commit brutal killings of 1400 Israelis, most of them civilians, on October 7.
Subsequently, Israel declared a "state of war", launching heavy bombardment of the Gaza Strip, home to over 2.4 million residents before initiating ground operations last Friday.
According to the Hamas-controlled health ministry in Gaza, the relentless bombing of the densely populated coastal enclave has killed over 9,000 there.
Against this backdrop, Jaishankar stated that only a two-state solution could end the conflict before emphasizing that Israel would fail to achieve it militarily and Hamas may not achieve its objectives through terrorism.
"Our view is that it has to be a two-state solution. If you have to find a solution, you have to find a solution through dialogue and negotiation. You cannot find a solution through conflict and terrorism," he said during his address at the Joint Secretary Session of the Senate's External Affairs and Defence Commission in Rome.
"Given the current situation...we do believe that humanitarian law must be respected. In any complex situation, it is not wise to not get the balance right," Jaishankar added.
The minister's remarks were in line with the previous statements given by the South Asian nation's Ministry of External Affairs (MEA).
"India has always advocated the resumption of direct negotiations towards establishing a sovereign, independent and viable state of Palestine living within secure and recognized borders side by side at peace with Israel. That position remains the same," the MEA said in a statement after the conflict unfolded earlier this month.