Jaishankar on Hamas-Israel conflict: Situation very complex

As the Israel-Hamas conflict intensifies, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday described the situation as “very complex”, and conveyed to his Israeli counterpart Eli Cohen India’s firm commitment to countering terrorism, observance of international humanitarian law and for a two-state solution to the Palestinian issue.

After a phone conversation with Jaishankar, Cohen, in a post on X, thanked New Delhi for its “support of Israel and of its war against the Hamas terrorist organisation, adding “our war is the entire democratic world’s war against a despicable terrorist organisation” that is worse than ISIS.

On his part, Jaishankar said: “Appreciated his sharing the Israeli assessment of the current situation. Reiterated our firm commitment to countering terrorism, observance of international humanitarian law and for a two state solution.” India had described Hamas’s multi-pronged attack on Israeli cities on October 7 as terror strikes but at the same time called for strict observance of the international humanitarian law following concerns over civilian casualties in Gaza in view of Israel’s counter-offensive.