New Delhi: For the first time since the war in Gaza began, the foreign ministers of the Quad countries which includes India, US, Japan and Australia, made a joint statement calling for an “immediate and prolonged ceasefire”, The Wire reported.
The declaration made in the first ministerial meeting, since the war began in Gaza, held in Tokyo on Monday emphasized on stopping the conflict from escalating into ‘a regional conflagration’.
Israeli military actions in Gaza triggered by Hamas’ terror attack on October 7 in Israel so far claimed more than 39,000, mostly civilians.
Nearly 2.3 million people have been rendered homeless, Palestinian authorities claimed.
The joint statement by Quad representatives “unequivocally” condemned the October 7 attack while saying that the large loss of civilian lives in Gaza is “unacceptable”.
The US is pressing Israel to accept a hostage and ceasefire deal but Israeli Prime Minister is known to be deliberately delaying any agreement.
With Israeli cabinet on Monday approving a military response to the rocket attack from Lebanon-based Hezbollah that killed 12 children, the situation threatening to spill the war over to the region.
Following which India in an advisory urged its nationals in Lebanon to ‘exercise caution’.
Given this scenario, the Quad joint statement stressed the “crucial need to prevent regional escalation.”
The Quad ministers asked “all parties to comply with international law, including international humanitarian law, as applicable.”
The four countries criticized Israeli’s expansion of recognized settlements in the West Bank and its parliamentary resolution against Palestinian statehood.
“Any unilateral actions that undermine the prospect of a two-state solution, including Israeli expansion of settlements and violent extremism on all sides, must end. We underscore the need to prevent the conflict from escalating and spilling over in the region,” the joint statement reportedly said.