India Voices Concern Over Gaza Crisis, Urges Humanitarian Aid and Hostage Release

India expressed deep concern over the escalating violence in Gaza on Wednesday, calling for sustained humanitarian assistance to the war-torn region and the immediate release of hostages held by Hamas. The statement from the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) comes as Israel resumed airstrikes on Hamas targets, shattering a fragile ceasefire that had held since January 19, 2025, and plunging the Palestinian enclave back into chaos.

“We are concerned at the situation in Gaza. It is important that all hostages are released,” the MEA said, emphasizing the need for uninterrupted aid to reach Gaza’s beleaguered population. The renewed Israeli offensive, which began on Tuesday, has claimed over 400 lives, according to the Hamas-run health ministry, unraveling hopes pinned on a three-phase ceasefire deal brokered earlier this year.

The truce, intended as a stepping stone to lasting peace, faltered when Israel and Hamas failed to launch talks on its second phase, originally slated for early February. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, defending the latest strikes, accused Hamas of rejecting a proposal from U.S. President Donald Trump’s special envoy, Steve Witkoff. “In the past two weeks, Israel did not initiate any military action in the hope that Hamas would change course. Well, that didn’t happen,” Netanyahu said on Tuesday. “This is why I authorised yesterday the renewal of military action against Hamas.”

India’s response underscores its longstanding stance on the Israel-Palestine conflict: advocating a two-state solution where both nations coexist in peace and security. As Gaza reels from the fresh bombardment, New Delhi’s call for humanitarian relief reflects growing global alarm over the plight of civilians caught in the crossfire.

With negotiations stalled and violence surging, the ceasefire’s collapse marks a grim turn in a conflict that refuses to abate. India, watching closely, joins the chorus urging de-escalation—but for now, Gaza’s fragile calm lies in ruins.