India votes for ceasefire in Gaza

New Delhi: In the wake of mounting global concerns over the deaths of thousands of civilians in the Gaza Strip amid the ongoing Israeli military offensive, India on Wednesday “struck the right balance” and changed its position in the United Nations General Assembly after one and a half months by voting in favour of a resolution seeking an “immediate humanitarian ceasefire” in the Gaza Strip. The resolution also sought “the immediate and unconditional release of all hostages and well as ensuring humanitarian access”, and was passed with “a large majority of 153 (nations) in favour and 10 against, with 23 abstentions”, the UN said. Israel and the United States were among the 10 nations that voted against the resolution.

Hours before the vote, external affairs minister S. Jaishankar had spoken to Israeli foreign minister Eliyahu Cohen on the situation in Gaza, Lebanon and maritime traffic in the region. It may be noted that on October 28, India abstained at the UNGA on a resolution on the Gaza situation that had “called for an immediate humanitarian truce in the Israel-Hamas conflict leading to a cessation of hostilities and unhindered humanitarian access in the Gaza strip”. New Delhi had then said the terror attacks in Israel on October 7 were shocking and deserve condemnation and that there should be a “zero tolerance approach to terrorism”.

After the resolution was passed, India’s UN permanent representative Ruchira Kamboj said: “India has voted in favour of the resolution just adopted by the General Assembly. The situation that this august body has been deliberating upon has many dimensions. There is the terrorist attack on Israel on 7 October and the concern for the hostages taken at that time. There is an enormous humanitarian crisis and large scale loss of civilian lives, especially of women and children.”

Ms Kamboj added: “There is the issue of observing international humanitarian law in all circumstances. And there is the endeavour to find a peaceful and lasting two-state solution to the long-standing Palestine question. Our challenge in this extraordinarily difficult time is to strike the right balance. The gravity and complexity of what the international community faces is underlined by the Secretary-General invoking Article 99 of the UN Charter. Therefore, we welcome the fact that the international community has been able to find a common ground to address the multiple challenges facing the region right now.”

On Wednesday, the UN said “two amendments making specific reference to extremist group Hamas were voted down by members”, which means it couldn’t be incorporated into the resolution that was passed. The main resolution did not name Hamas, and so the US proposed an amendment to the draft resolution, calling for insertion of the paragraph “Unequivocally rejects and condemns the heinous terrorist attacks by Hamas that took place in Israel starting 7 October 2023 and the taking of hostages” in the main text. India voted in favour of the amendment on Wednesday, reports said.

The UNGA vote on Wednesday came days after the 15-nation UN Security Council failed to adopt a resolution on the Israel-Hamas conflict.