India’s Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday reiterated its longstanding position supporting the establishment of an independent Palestine. The Indian government also said that the cross-border assault by Palestinian militant group Hamas on Israel on Saturday was a “terrorist attack”.

“There must be resumption of direct negotiations towards establishing a sovereign, independent and viable state of Palestine living within secure and recognised borders side by side at peace with Israel,” Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said.

The toll since the October 7 attack rose to 2,500 on Thursday with 1,300 deaths in Palestine and 1,200 in Israel. Hamas has reportedly taken about 150 hostages.

On Wednesday, India launched special chartered flights under an initiative titled Operation Ajay, to facilitate the return of citizens to India from Israel amid the conflict. There are currently about 18,000 Indian citizens in Israel.

Following the attacks over the weekend, Israel declared a siege of the Gaza region on Monday and launched a series of airstrikes. It also stopped water, fuel and power supplies to Gaza. On Wednesday, electricity in the region went out after the sole power station ran out of fuel.

“Humanitarian aid to Gaza, no electrical switch will be turned on, no water hydrant will be opened and no fuel truck will enter until the Israeli abductees are returned home,” Israel’s Energy Minister Israel Katz said on social media on Thursday. “Humanitarianism for humanitarianism. And no one will preach us morality.”

This came as the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres said on Thursday that the organisation needed “rapid and unimpeded” humanitarian access to Gaza. “Crucial life-saving supplies – including fuel, food and water – must be allowed into Gaza,” Guterres added.

On Thursday, United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken landed in Tel Aviv and extended his support to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “Israel has the right to defend itself,” Blinken said. “How Israel does this matters.”