Amid continued Israeli strikes in Lebanon, India on Friday expressed deep concerns over rising civilian casualties in the country, emphasising protection of civilian casualties as the foremost priority.
Addressing an Inter-Ministerial Briefing on the West Asia crisis, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal asserted that India being a troop-contributing country to United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) is invested in the peace and security of Lebanon.
“We are deeply concerned by reports of a large number of civilian casualties that have been reported in Lebanon. As a troop-contributing country to United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL)–which is invested in Lebanon’s peace and security–the trajectory of events is very disturbing,” Jaiswal said.
The MEA spokesperson stressed that respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity is essential.
“India has always emphasised the protection of civilians as the foremost priority. Observing international law and respecting the sovereignty and territorial integrity of states is essential,” he added, without directly mentioning Israel’s ground invasion in Lebanon.
Jaiswal further informed that around 1,000 Indian nationals live in Lebanon and the Indian Embassy in Beirut is in touch with them.
“Embassy in Lebanon remains in close touch with the Indian community regarding their safety and security, and we have around 1,000 Indian nationals in Lebanon,” Jaiswal added.
Despite the announcement of a ceasefire between the United States and Iran, Israel continued to pound Lebanon, striking Hezbollah targets across the country
Iran, which claims the ceasefire also included Lebanon, called Israeli strikes a “grave violation” of the ceasefire and threatened to respond if the attacks are not stopped immediately.
Unmoved by the Iranian warning, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that his military will continue to strike Hezbollah targets wherever necessary.
Netanyahu, however, has directed his cabinet to start direct negotiations with Lebanon as soon as possible.
