We welcome President Trump’s leadership as peace efforts in Gaza make decisive progress. Indications of the release of hostages mark a significant step forward: Modi
New Delhi: India on Saturday welcomed the progress in peace efforts in Gaza, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi lauding US President’s efforts to end the fighting and saying indications about the release of hostages taken by Hamas marked a “significant step forward”.
“We welcome President Trump’s leadership as peace efforts in Gaza make decisive progress. Indications of the release of hostages mark a significant step forward,” Modi said on social media.
India, Modi said, will “continue to strongly support all efforts towards a durable and just peace”.
This was the second time this week that Modi praised Trump’s peace plan, and his remarks on social media came after reports that Hamas submitted its response to the US president’s initiative. The group agreed to free all Israeli captives and to hand over the administration of the Gaza Strip to Palestinian technocrats.
In response to the statement issued by Hamas, Trump described the developments as “unprecedented”. Trump said in a brief video posted on social media that he believed Hamas was ready for a “lasting peace” and urged Israel to “immediately stop bombing Gaza”.
On Tuesday, Modi welcomed Trump’s 20-point plan to end the Israel-Hamas conflict, saying the initiative provides a “viable pathway” for long-term peace and development for the Palestinian and Israeli people.
The peace proposal envisages the return of some 48 hostages still held by Hamas, of whom 28 are believed to be dead, within 72 hours of a ceasefire. It also envisages the creation of a transitional administration and the disarmament of Hamas. However, Hamas’s response did not address the issue of disarmament.
The Gaza Strip, the world’s most densely populated enclave where offensives by the Israeli military have killed more than 66,000 people, will be redeveloped as “New Gaza”, according to the plan.
India has consistently called for a return to dialogue and diplomacy to end the Israel-Hamas conflict and to pave the way for efforts aimed at a two-state solution. It has condemned the attacks carried out by Hamas in October 2023 in keeping with its “zero tolerance” policy for terrorism and called for the release of all hostages taken by the group. At the same time, it has also called for unhindered access to Gaza for supplying humanitarian assistance.
Hamas’s response to the US peace plan on Friday came hours after Trump gave the group until Sunday to respond to the proposal.
People familiar with the matter said India has had a consistent, clear and longstanding position focused on a two-state solution. This national policy – focused on a negotiated two-state solution to establish a sovereign, independent and viable state of Palestine, within secure and recognised borders, and living side by side in peace with Israel – has support across political party lines, they said.
India was one of the first non-Arab countries to recognise the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) as the sole and legitimate representative of the people of Palestine in 1974, and, in 1988, India became one of the first countries to recognise the state of Palestine.
On September 12, India voted in favour of the “New York Declaration”, the outcome document of a conference co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and France on the peaceful settlement of the issue of Palestine and the implementation of the two-state solution.
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