Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Thursday called for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza and providing humanitarian assistance to the beleaguered people, and said the perpetrators of the indiscriminate bombing on a hospital there must be held accountable. He also appealed to all sides to abandon violence and begin the process of negotiations so that the aspirations of the Palestinian people are fulfilled and the “security concerns of Israel are also ensured”.
In a statement, he reiterated Congress support for the rights of Palestinian people who have been “living in an atmosphere of fear and intimidation”. Their aspiration for a life of dignity, self-respect and equality in a sovereign state of their own is perfectly legitimate, Kharge said.
“The indiscriminate bombing on the hospital in Gaza and residential areas resulting in the loss of hundreds of lives of innocent men, women and children is both unjustifiable and a grave humanitarian tragedy for which the perpetrators must be held accountable,” Kharge said.
“The Indian National Congress repeats its call for an immediate ceasefire and for humanitarian assistance to the beleaguered people of Gaza. It calls upon all sides to abandon the path of senseless violence and war and begin the process of negotiations and diplomacy so that the aspirations of the Palestinian people are fulfilled and the security concerns of Israel are also ensured,” the Congress president said.
On October 8, he said the Congress had condemned the brutal attacks by Hamas on the people of Israel. Also unacceptable are the indiscriminate actions by Israel’s military forces in civilian areas that includes a siege of the Gaza strip and bombings in it, he said.
“The Indian National Congress reiterates its long-standing support for the rights of the Palestinian people. The aspirations of the Palestinian people for a life of dignity, self-respect and equality in a sovereign state of their own is long-standing and perfectly legitimate. These aspirations have been routinely suppressed and denied. Millions of Palestinians have been dispossessed and displaced. They have lived in an atmosphere of fear and intimidation,” the Congress chief said.
Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Wednesday had said on X, “The bombing of hospitals, the murder of children, the blockading of food, water and medicines to civilians.there are no words strong enough to condemn the horror that is taking place in Gaza.”
“As a woman, a mother, a human being, I am ashamed that the world is allowing these crimes to be committed with such impunity,” she said.
Doctors hamstrung by dwindling medical supplies rushed Wednesday to save people badly wounded in a massive blast at a Gaza City hospital the day before, performing surgery – often without anaesthesia – on patients lying on floors, as Israel kept up its attacks on the besieged territory.
The Hamas militant group blamed Israel for the massive blast at the al-Ahli Hospital – saying nearly 500 died – while Israel blamed a rocket misfired by other Palestinian militants.
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