"Very much concerned at possibility of broadening of conflict in Middle East": Jaishankar

Washington, DC [US], Oct 01: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Tuesday that India is "very much" concerned at the possibility of broadening of the conflict in the Middle East.

Speaking at the conversation at the Carnegie Endowment in the US, he called Hamas' attack on Israel a "terrorist attack," and added that Israel had a need to respond and added that India believes that any response by any country has to take into account international humanitarian law.

Asked about the escalating violence in the Middle East and India's approach towards Israel's policy and wider conflict possibilities, Jaishankar said, " If one looks at the current situation, I think it would be right to start off with October 7th. We regard October 7th as a terrorist attack. We understand that Israel had a need to respond, but we also believe that any response by any country has to take into account international humanitarian law, that it must be careful about any damage or any implications for civilian populations. And that given what has happened in Gaza, it is important to have some kind of international humanitarian effort out there."

"And we are very much concerned at the possibility of a broadening of the conflict, not just what happened in Lebanon, but also, you know, I referred earlier to the Houthis and the Red Sea, and, you know, to some extent, everything that happens between Iran and Israel. So again, it's one thing to be concerned. I'm sure you can say that for a lot of countries. If as part of that concern, we can end up doing something about it, you know, then don't underestimate the importance of communication in difficult times. If there are things to be said and passed on and passed back, I think those are all contributions that we can make and we do," he added.

Notably, India has backed a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict. PM Narendra Modi was one of the first global leaders to condemn the terror attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7. However, India has repeatedly expressed concerns over the deteriorating situation in Gaza.

In October last year, Israel launched a counter-offensive against Hamas after hundreds of Hamas terrorists burst into Israeli borders, killing over 1200 people and taking over 250 hostages, out of which 100 continue to be in captivity.

The war has spiralled into the region lately, with Houthi rebels in Yemen also targeting Israel and other countries in the Red Sea. Israel has also continued striking Hezbollah in Lebanon. As the conflict heads towards escalation, all major countries have called for a ceasefire and hostage deal, while also stressing for a two-state solution as a means to achieve durable and sustainable peace in the region.

In a major escalation in the raging conflict in the Middle East, Iran on Tuesday launched a missile attack on Israel on Tuesday. In a statement, the IDF said all Israeli civilians are in bomb shelters as rockets from Iran are fired at Israel.

Hezbollah is upset that the IDF exposed their plans to massacre Israelis, so they decided to target innocent civilians by firing a barrage of rockets, the IDF further said.

102 missiles have been launched towards Israel, according to the Jerusalem Post. Sirens continue to sound across Israel amid the attack, the Times of Israel reported. According to the IDF, around 10 million civilians are the targets of Iranian projectiles. Iran's state media has also confirmed the Iranian attack towards Israel.