Congress leader Sonia Gandhi on Saturday mounted a sharp attack on the Modi government over its stance on the Israel-Gaza conflict, arguing that India's "stony silence" and "inaction" on what she described as Israel's "genocide" in Gaza were not only morally indefensible but also contrary to the country's strategic interests.

In an article published in The Indian Express, the Congress Parliamentary Party chairperson contended that India had alienated itself from its historical allies in Palestine, Iran and the wider Middle East, distanced itself from global public opinion, and ceded diplomatic space to Pakistan.

She also described Prime Minister Narendra Modi's visit to Israel shortly before the US-Israel strikes on Iran as a "bewildering strategic decision".

According to Sonia, both India's moral obligations and national interests demand a stronger response to Israel's actions in Gaza and the occupied West Bank, where, she argued, Palestinians have faced "brutal displacement and dispossession".

"The Modi government's continued silence simply cannot be explained rationally or morally," she wrote.

Citing findings of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, the Congress leader noted that the body had concluded in September 2025 that Israeli authorities were committing genocide against Palestinians in Gaza.

She further referred to the commission's June 2026 report, now headed by retired Justice S Muralidhar, which, she said, reiterated that Israeli actions were aimed at destroying the very existence of Palestinians in Gaza by targeting children.

"The 94-page report is a harrowing read, with grim details on the extent of the devastation perpetrated by Israel in Gaza and the genocidal intent underpinning its actions. At least 20,000 children have been killed, and another 44,000 have been wounded, many for life," Sonia wrote.

Arguing that the targeting of children was deliberate rather than incidental, she cited figures from the report to claim that 27 per cent of those killed or wounded were children, while 97 per cent of Gaza's schools had been destroyed.

She also alleged that the destruction of healthcare infrastructure, including paediatric hospitals, had contributed to a 300 per cent increase in miscarriage and childbirth complications.

While describing Hamas' October 2023 attack on Israel as "dastardly, horrific, and absolutely unacceptable", Sonia argued that Israel's subsequent military response had been marked by "wanton cruelty and barbarity".

She accused senior Israeli leaders, including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and members of his cabinet, of expressing "genocidal intent" through calls for a "complete siege" and "total annihilation" of Gaza.

Sonia further argued that continued support from US President Donald Trump's administration had enabled Israel to sustain what she termed a "brutal campaign" against Palestinians, even as international opinion increasingly turned against Tel Aviv.

Although the United Nations had been constrained by American obstruction, she maintained, its agencies had played a crucial role in documenting alleged Israeli war crimes.

Pointing to shifts in global opinion, Sonia noted that countries traditionally aligned with the Western bloc, including France, the UK, Canada and Australia, had recognised Palestinian statehood. She also highlighted South Africa's case against Israel at the International Court of Justice, restrictions imposed by several European countries on arms sales to Israel, and diplomatic downgrades by a number of Latin American nations.

The International Criminal Court, she added, had issued arrest warrants against the Israeli political leadership.

"Amidst the growing public backlash against Israel and the international community's cognisance of the unjustifiable brutality unleashed on Gaza, India remains a lone voice of silence," the Congress leader asserted.

She said the Narendra Modi government's silence on Justice Muralidhar's report was unsurprising, recalling his transfer from the Delhi High Court after he criticised the Delhi Police's inaction over alleged inflammatory remarks by BJP leaders ahead of the 2020 Delhi riots.

Sonia argued that India had historically distinguished itself through its commitment to postcolonial solidarity, national sovereignty and international peace.

"Today we are exceptional in our continued indifference to the flagrant violation of the global rules-based order, to the suffering of our fellow peoples in the Global South, and to the abasement of human dignity that is on open display in Gaza and the West Bank," she wrote.

Recalling the death of five-year-old Hind Rajab, Sonia described her as emblematic of the "unspeakable cruelty" inflicted on Gaza.

"A girl of just five, fleeing Gaza City with her family when Israeli forces fired 335 rounds at their car, killing her six family members, leaving her trapped in a car with her relatives' dead bodies while paramedics attempted to rescue her. She was eventually killed, along with two paramedics," Sonia wrote.

Reiterating that India's silence was damaging both morally and strategically, she argued that New Delhi was drifting deeper into Israel's strategic orbit at a time when much of the world was moving away from it.

"We have alienated ourselves from our historical allies in Palestine, Iran, and the larger Middle East. We have distanced ourselves from global public opinion. And we have let Pakistan, of all countries, itself a state that has and continues to harbour dreaded terrorists, swoop in to claim the space of a mediator," Sonia wrote.

India had sacrificed both strategic interests and moral standing while gaining little beyond the personal rapport between Modi and Netanyahu, she added.

Sharing the article on X, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge described it as a "stark reminder" of how India's current foreign policy had alienated its historical allies in Palestine, Iran and the wider Middle East.

Rahul Gandhi also shared the article, saying it called on India to reclaim an independent foreign policy, uphold humanitarian values and speak out on Gaza with "moral clarity".