Live | Day 6: India supports establishment of independent state of Palestine, says MEA
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reaffirmed America's unwavering support for Israel’s right to defend itself from terrorism
Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on Thursday said India supports the establishment of a "sovereign, independent and viable" state of Palestine.
Speaking at a press conference today, Bagchi said, "Our policy has been longstanding and consistent. India always advocated the resumption of direct negotiations towards establishing a sovereign, independent and viable state of Palestine, living within secure and recognised borders, side by side at peace with Israel. I think that position remains the same."
When asked about the humanitarian situation in Israel and Gaza, Bagchi said that there was a universal obligation to observe humanitarian law. "There is also the responsibility to fight the menace of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations," he said.
This is the first reaction from the MEA since the Israel-Hamas conflict began on October 7. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had said India stands firmly with Israel in this hour of conflict.
Blinken's assurance
Meanwhile, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken reassured Israel in Tel Aviv on Wednesday (October 12) that the country will always have American support, promising they won't have to defend themselves alone as long as America exists.
He visited Israel following Hamas's devastating attack in southern Israel, where over 1,300 people, mostly civilians, were killed.
Blinken expressed horror at the casualties, referred to the Holocaust and his family's experiences during the Nazi era, and affirmed his active efforts to prevent the escalation of the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.
The Federal reports on the Israel-Hamas war
Live Updates
- 12 Oct 2023 7:18 AM GMT
US State Department warns us citizens to reconsider travel to Israel
The State Department upgraded its travel warning for Israel and the West Bank on Wednesday to Level 3, “reconsider travel.” It kept its travel advisory for Gaza at the department's highest warning level, Level 4, meaning “do not travel.” The State Department cited extremists continuing to plot attacks, the possibility of violence erupting without warning, and increased demonstrations. The travel warning comes as five days of rocket fire and missile barrages between the Hamas militant group and Israel already have led many airlines to suspend commercial flights.
- 12 Oct 2023 7:17 AM GMT
Malaysia announces emergency fund for Palestinians
Malaysian Foreign Minister Zambry Abdul Kadir slammed Israel's “outrageous acts of cruelty” in cutting off food, water and fuel to the Gaza Strip and said Malaysia will provide 1 million ringgit (USD 212,000) as an emergency fund to help Palestinians. Zambry said on Thursday that evacuation plans are underway to bring home a Malaysian doctor and her three children caught in the conflict. He also said a group of 23 Malaysians and Singaporeans safely crossed over to Egypt on Tuesday.
A strong supporter of the Palestinian cause, Malaysia has blamed the crisis on the oppression and injustice against the Palestinian people.
- 12 Oct 2023 7:17 AM GMT
Egypt rejects proposals to establish corridors out of Gaza
Egypt has engaged with intensive talks with Israel and the United States to allow the delivery of aid and fuel through its Rafah crossing point. However, it pushed back against proposals to establish corridors out of Gaza, saying an exodus of Palestinians from the enclave would have grave consequences on the Palestinian cause.
The Egyptian government has rejected any proposal to establish corridors out of Gaza for Palestinians fleeing Israel's bombardment in Gaza, a senior Egyptian official said early on Thursday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief media, was responding to White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby, who said that the Biden administration is in active conversations to achieve safe passage out of Gaza for civilians.
Egypt's state-run media reported that Israel's offensive is part of a scheme to empty the enclave.
- 12 Oct 2023 7:16 AM GMT
Israeli military says it's preparing for a ground operation in Gaza
The Israeli military says it is preparing for a possible ground operation in Gaza but that the political leadership has not yet decided on one. Lt. Col. Richard Hecht told reporters on Thursday that forces “are preparing for a ground manoeuvre if decided.”
Israel has called up some 3,60,000 army reservists and has threatened an unprecedented response to Hamas' bloody, wide-ranging incursion over the weekend. It has been launching intense airstrikes on Gaza since the attack by Hamas on Saturday, as militants have fired thousands of rockets into Israel.
- 12 Oct 2023 6:29 AM GMT
Humanitarian crisis in Gaza worsens
Palestinians in the Gaza strip, 2.3 million of them crowded into a narrow strip of land, are living in fear as they face daily airstrikes from Israeli war planes. Health officials in the area on Thursday morning (October 12) said more than 1,000 have died.
Terrified families spend the night huddled together as explosions rock the area, and emerge in the morning to face another day of uncertainty and fear.
The humanitarian crisis in the completely-blockaded enclave is getting worse as Israel has implemented a total siege of the region, stopping the supply of water, food, power, and fuel. The only power plant in Gaza shut down on Wednesday (October 11) since it ran out of fuel. Residents have to now depend on car batteries to charge their phones.
The Ministry of Health says that the Al-Shifa hospital is not able to cope with the huge influx of patients and will soon be out of medical supplies.
Food is in short supply, and people are rushing to stock up on whatever they can get their hands on.
The civilians in Gaza can only expect things to get worse as they are caught between the Hamas and the Israelis in a war of attrition.
- 12 Oct 2023 3:46 AM GMT
Indian diaspora in US extends solidarity to Israel, terms Hamas' attack 'crime against humanity'
A prominent Indian diaspora group has extended solidarity to the people of Israel and said that the attack by Hamas militants against innocent civilians in the country is a crime against humanity.
“We stand in solidarity with the people of Israel and condemn these unprovoked and barbaric attacks,” said Khanderao Kand, director of Foundation for India and Indian Diaspora Studies (FIIDS). “Hamas’ and Jihadi terrorists' goal is to destroy Israel, and its attacks on innocent civilians are a crime against humanity,” he said.
FIIDS welcomed the US House bipartisan resolution, introduced by Congressman Michael MaCaul and Gregory Meeks, and supported by 392 House of Representatives, condemning the attack and supporting Israel in the ongoing war. FIIDS compared Hamas' attacks to the September 11, 2001 attacks on the United States. “This is a 9/11-like attack on Israel,” he said. “It is a cowardly and barbaric attack on innocent civilians. The world should not allow Islamic Jihadi extremists to succeed in its goal of destroying Israel and peace. We must stand with Israel and make sure that other Islamic countries do not help Jihadi terrorism,” Kand said.
“These attacks are a setback for peace in the Middle East with a global implication,” he said. “They are also a threat to Israel’s peace and prosperity initiatives under the Abraham Accords to normalize relations with Arab countries,” he added.
- 12 Oct 2023 3:40 AM GMT
22 Americans have died in Israel, 17 remain unaccounted for: White House
As many as 22 Americans have lost their lives in Hamas' attack on Israel and 17 remain unaccounted for, the White House said Wednesday, and added that the figure is likely to increase in the coming days.
National Seccurity Advisor Jake Sullivan said more Americans could be among those taken held hostage by Palestinian militant group Hamas, adding that the US communicating with Israel on recovery of hostages.
“We know that, so far, 22 Americans lost their lives and 17 remain unaccounted for. We know that these numbers are likely to increase in the days ahead,” said John Kirby, Coordinator for Strategic Communications at the National Security Council in the White House.
Earlier, the US government had confirmed the deaths of 14 Americans in the attack. This attack, Sullivan told reporters, has brought to the surface painful memories and the scars left by millennia of antisemitism and genocide of the Jewish people. “We have a little bit better sense today of how many more Americans are unaccounted for or missing. We know that a number of those Americans are being held hostage right now by Hamas. I think we all need to steel ourselves for the very distinct possibility that these numbers will keep increasing and that we may, in fact, find out that more Americans are part of the hostage pool,” he said.
- 12 Oct 2023 3:35 AM GMT
Hamas attacks the deadliest day for Jews since Holocaust: US President Joe Biden
President Joe Biden on Wednesday condemned the weekend attack by Hamas militants on Israel as the deadliest day for Jews since the Holocaust as the number of US citizens killed in the fighting ticked up to at least 22.
“This attack was a campaign of pure cruelty — not just hate, but pure cruelty — against the Jewish people,” Biden told Jewish leaders gathered at the White House.
Beyond the 22 known to have been killed, the State Department said at least 17 more Americans remain unaccounted for in a war that has already claimed more than 2,200 lives on both sides. A “handful” of U.S. citizens are among the estimated 150 hostages captured by Hamas militants during their shocking weekend assault on Israel, White House national security spokesman John Kirby said Wednesday.
Signs of US support for Israel were seen across the administration, with Secretary of State Antony Blinken travelling there for meetings, Biden denouncing antisemitism in America and the US military moving a second aircraft carrier toward the Mediterranean Sea as part of efforts to prevent the war from spilling over into a more dangerous regional conflict.
Kirby said the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower and its ships would be an “available asset” if necessary. The USS Gerald R. Ford, the Navy's most advanced aircraft carrier, and its strike group have already arrived in the Eastern Mediterranean.
- 12 Oct 2023 3:30 AM GMT
Watch | UK foreign secretary runs for cover as siren goes off during Israel visit
UK foreign secretary James Cleverly, who is currently in Israel, ran for cover as sirens went off in the Jewish nation on Wednesday.
Cleverly is in Israel to meet survivors of the Hamas attacks and senior Israeli leaders. Posting a video on X, the Israeli foreign ministry said, "Watch: while UK FM @JamesCleverly visits Ofakim in southern Israel, a siren goes off warning of incoming Hamas rocket fire." "This is the reality Israelis live with every day," it said.
Talking about the experience, Cleverly on X wrote that the threat of Hamas rockets lingers over every Israeli man, woman and child. “Today I’ve seen a glimpse of what millions experience every day...This is why we are standing shoulder to shoulder with Israel," he said.
