Israel-Hamas war: Chidambaram urges India to explore ways to start negotiations
Oct 18, 2023
New Delhi [India], October 18 : Reacting to the blasts in a hospital in Gaza that killed hundreds of people, Congress Rajya Sabha MP and former Union Minister P Chidambaram on Wednesday urged India and other countries to prevail upon both Israel and Palestine to come to the negotiating table.
"If reports are true that Israeli air strikes yesterday killed hundreds of people in a hospital in Gaza, that is condemnable. It is as brutal as the Hamas' attack on Israel on October 7 that triggered the present bloody conflict," Chidambaram tweeted.
"Both sides have suffered and will continue to suffer if the fighting does not stop immediately War is no solution to disputes. India and other countries must prevail upon both sides to stop the fighting and explore ways to begin negotiations," he added.
The Gaza Health Ministry had claimed on Tuesday that an Israeli airstrike hit al-Ahli Hospital in Gaza City killing at least 500 people, but Israel denied it was behind the attack.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu countered the Palestinian claim and said that intelligence from several sources revealed that Islamic Jihad, operating from Gaza, was responsible for the unsuccessful rocket launch that caused the hospital explosion.
"An analysis of IDF operational systems indicates that a barrage of rockets was fired by terrorists in Gaza, passing in close proximity to the Al Ahli hospital in Gaza at the time it was hit," he posted on social media platform X.
"Intelligence from multiple sources we have in our hands indicates that Islamic Jihad is responsible for the failed rocket launch which hit the hospital in Gaza," he added.
Palestinian Ambassador to the UN, Riyad Mansour on Wednesday responded to the Israeli Prime Minister's claim that Hamas was behind the attack on a Hospital in Gaza and said that "He is a liar".
The Palestinian envoy claimed that the Israeli forces hit the hospital speculating the presence of Hamas base around the premises.
"He is a liar. His digital spokesperson tweeted that Israel did the hit thinking that there was a base for Hamas around this hospital, and then he deleted that tweet. We have a copy of that tweet... Now they changed the story to try to blame the Palestinians."
