India on Thursday advocated efforts towards a lasting ceasefire in Gaza, arguing that intermittent pauses in hostilities are not enough to address the humanitarian challenges in the region.

The statement came more than a month after New Delhi had abstained from voting on a UN General Assembly resolution that demandedan immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in Gaza.

“Intermittent pauses in hostilities are not enough to address the scale of humanitarian challenges confronting the people, who grapple daily with acute shortages of food and fuel, inadequate medical services and lack of access to education,” India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, P. Harish, said.

Although India’s voting pattern on UN resolutions on Gaza has shifted back and forth more than once, depending on the wording, Harish maintained that New Delhi had been consistent.

“The way ahead is clear, and India has been consistent in this regard. The ongoing human suffering must not be allowed to continue,” Harish said, addressing the UN Security Council’s Quarterly Open Debate on the “Situation in the Middle East including the Palestinian Question”.

“Humanitarian assistance needs to be facilitated in a safe, sustained and timely manner. There is no substitute to peace. A ceasefire must be put in place. All hostages must be released.

“Dialogue and diplomacy remain the only viablepaths to achieving theseobjectives. There are noother fixes or solutions,” he added.

Harish reaffirmed India’s position that the path to enduring peace was rooted in a two-State solution – one that established a sovereign, viable and independent State of Palestine within recognised and mutually agreed borders, living side by side with Israel in peace.

He underlined India’s historical ties with the Palestinian people, saying “we have always stood by them and our commitment towards thePalestinian cause is unwavering”.

Citing the financial support India has been providing Palestine along with projects in diverse sectors, he said: “We were the first non-Arab country to recognise the State of Palestine.”

The Narendra Modi government has been accused of diluting India’s strong support for the Palestinian people as New Delhi walks a tightrope between its historical tieswith Palestine and its fast-developing bonhomie with Tel Aviv.

The current round of hostilities began with the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023.