Thu Jul 24 05:28:53 UTC 2025: **Headline: India Urges Ceasefire and Two-State Solution Amidst Gaza Humanitarian Crisis**
**United Nations, July 24, 2025** – India has voiced its deep concern over the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Gaza, calling for an immediate ceasefire and emphasizing that “intermittent pauses in hostilities” are insufficient to address the dire situation faced by the Palestinian people.
Addressing an open debate at the UN Security Council on Wednesday, India’s Permanent Representative to the U.N., Ambassador Parvathaneni Harish, stated that the acute shortages of food and fuel, inadequate medical services, and lack of access to education necessitate a comprehensive and sustained solution.
“Humanitarian assistance needs to be facilitated in a safe, sustained, and timely manner. There is no substitute for peace. A ceasefire must be put in place. All hostages must be released. Dialogue and diplomacy remain the only viable paths to achieving these objectives,” Ambassador Harish asserted.
Reaffirming India’s unwavering support for the Palestinian cause and its historical ties with the Palestinian people, Ambassador Harish highlighted the particularly troubling health and education situation in Gaza. He cited World Health Organization estimates that around 95% of hospitals in Gaza are damaged or destroyed and reports from the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights indicating that over 650,000 children have been out of school for over 20 months.
India expressed hope that the upcoming UN conference on the Israel-Palestine conflict, scheduled for July 28-30, would pave the way for concrete steps towards achieving a two-State solution. India maintains that enduring peace requires the establishment of a sovereign, viable, and independent State of Palestine within recognized and mutually agreed borders, living side by side with Israel in peace.
Ambassador Harish reiterated India’s commitment to making a “tangible impact” on the daily lives of Palestinians through various projects, with over $40 million currently invested in diverse sectors.
The high-level conference on the two-state solution, co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and France, had been postponed from its original June dates due to rising tensions. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and President of the General Assembly Philemon Yang have emphasized the conference’s importance as a crucial opportunity to chart a path towards the implementation of the two-State solution.
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