External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday described the ongoing situation due to the Israel-Hamas conflict as "very complex".
He 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 organization, adding "our war is the entire democratic world's war against a despicable terrorist organization" 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.
Jaishankar described the situation arising out of the Hamas-Israel conflict as "very complex", PTI reported.
He also strongly justified India's recent decision to abstain on a UN General Assembly resolution calling for a humanitarian truce between the two sides.
He called the October 7 strikes on Israeli cities by Hamas as "terrorism" even as he asserted India's long-standing support for a negotiated two-state solution to the Palestine issue.
"I clearly conclude that it is a very complex situation with a lot of possibilities which are not fully apparent -- possibilities not in a good way," he said as per the report.
Asked if the current crisis will impact initiatives under the I2U2 grouping and implementation of the ambitious India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) project, Jaishankar said it is too early to make any "definitive or even semi-definite conclusion".
