Amid escalating Israeli air strikes on Gaza, India on Sunday urged "both sides" to show extreme restraint. India's Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador T S Tirumurti said that both Israel and Hamas must refrain from attempts to unilaterally change the existing status-quo. He underlined that “immediate de-escalation" is the need of the hour.
The Indian envoy reiterated the country's "unwavering and strong support to the just Palestinian cause and a two-state solution" to the Israel-Palestine conflict. The envoy also noted that the continuing violence, which began in East Jerusalem a week back, is now threatening to spiral out of control.
The UN Security Council held an open meeting on the situation in the Middle East on Sunday, during which UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres termed the tensions as the "most serious escalation” in Gaza and Israel in years.
Describing the current hostilities as “utterly appalling”, the UN chief asserted that “fighting must stop. It must stop immediately". "Rockets and mortars on one side and aerial and artillery bombardments on the other must stop. I appeal to all parties to heed this call.”