IBSA strongly condemns Israeli attack on Gaza; deplores 'use of starvation' as method of warfare

New York, Sep 27 (PTI) India, Brazil and South Africa have strongly condemned the ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza and expressed grave concern over the situation in the "occupied" Palestinian territory.

The issue figured prominently at a meeting of the trilateral grouping IBSA (India, Brazil, South Africa) that took place on the margins of the UN General Assembly.

It was attended by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, Brazilian Foreign Minister Mauro Vieira and South African minister Sindisiwe Chikunga.

The IBSA's strong condemnation of the ongoing Israeli attacks on Gaza came days after Canada, the UK and Australia formally recognised the Palestine state in the face of the continuing Israeli strikes on Gaza.

The trilateral grouping especially deplored the "use of starvation" as a method of warfare and reiterated its call for a permanent ceasefire, leading to the cessation of Israeli attacks, the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from the Strip as well as the release of remaining hostages by Hamas.

"The ministers expressed grave concern about the situation in the Occupied Palestinian territory and strongly condemned the Israeli attacks against Gaza, which, after almost two years, continue to cause unprecedented suffering to the civilian population of the territory, ravaged by deaths, destruction, forced displacement, and famine," the IBSA said in a statement.

It said they also called for adherence to international law, in particular to international humanitarian law and international human rights law, and deplored all violations of humanitarian law including the "use of starvation" as a method of warfare.

The ministers "reiterated their calls for a permanent ceasefire, leading to the cessation of Israeli attacks, the full withdrawal of Israeli troops from the territory, the release of remaining hostages, and unhindered access and delivery of humanitarian aid, at scale." "They stressed the urgent need for the beginning of the reconstruction of the civilian infrastructure of the Strip and, in this regard, noted the Early Recovery and Reconstruction Plan adopted by the League of Arab States on March 4, 2025." The IBSA ministers recalled that the Gaza Strip is an inseparable part of the Occupied Palestinian Territory.

"They underlined, in this regard, the importance of unifying the West Bank and the Gaza Strip under the Palestinian Authority, and reaffirm the right of the Palestinian people to self-determination, including the right to their independent State of Palestine," the IBSA said in a statement.

"They reasserted their steadfast support for UNRWA and stressed the need to fully respect the mandate, bestowed on it by the UNGA, for the provision of basic services to Palestine refugees in its five fields of operations," it said.

The IBSA also strongly condemned the "gruesome killing" of civilians in the recent terrorist attack in Pahalgam and reaffirmed its unconditional rejection of terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

The trilateral grouping urged "zero tolerance" for terrorism, rejected double standards in countering the menace regardless of motivation and stressed that all counter-terrorism measures must comply fully with international law.

It also reiterated the importance of concluding a Comprehensive Convention on International Terrorism within the framework of the UN General Assembly.

"They (ministers) emphasised the need to combat the financing of terrorism in line with international standards, while ensuring lawful and effective exchange of financial intelligence.

"The ministers called for concerted actions against all UN listed terrorists and terrorist entities including Al-Qaeda, ISIS/Daesh, Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), other proxy groups and their facilitators," the IBSA said.

The IBSA ministers noted the growing challenges posed by violent extremism, including the threat from self-radicalized individuals, and stressed the importance of capacity-building and intelligence cooperation among states. PTI MPB RD