INDIA on Friday welcomed the ceasefire announced between Israel and Lebanon, expressing support for every step that leads towards peace. While addressing a weekly media briefing in New Delhi on Friday, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said, “We welcome the ceasefire. We welcome every step that leads towards peace.” MEA’s statement comes after the US President Donald Trump on Thursday announced a ceasefire between Israel and Lebanon aimed at bringing a temporary cooling-off along another front linked to the Iran conflict. Lebanon is not directly engaged in a formal war with Israel, but Hezbollah controls large parts of southern Lebanon and has carried out attacks on Israel, prompting retaliatory strikes.

 

Unable to rein in Hezbollah, Lebanon has borne the brunt of Israeli retaliation. When asked about Israel requesting India to designate Hamas as a terrorist organisation and India’s policy about disarming Hamas, Jaiswal responded, “We have a process in place, and those issues are addressed under that process.” OVER 2300 INDIANS SAFELY BROUGHT BACK FROM IRAN SINCE WEST ASIA CONFLICT BEGAN: MEA: THE Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said on Friday that India has safely brought back home 2,361 people since the beginning of the conflict in West Asia. Addressing a weekly media briefing in New Delhi on Friday, MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated that these 2,361 people include Indian students, fishermen and also three foreigners. “Since the outbreak of the conflict, we have helped bring 2,361 Indian citizens safely from Iran to India. Of these, 2,060 came via Armenia and 301 via Azerbaijan.