Amid the raging Israel-Hamas war, a group of opposition leaders, including MP Danish Ali and former parliamentarians Mani Shankar Aiyar,and KC Tyagi, visited the Palestine Embassy here on 16th October to express solidarity with Palestinians. 

Besides BSP's Ali, Congress' Aiyar and JD(U)'s Tyagi, CPI (ML) general secretary Dipankar Bhattacharya and Samajwadi Party MP Javed Ali Khan were also among those leaders who visited the embassy. 

Bhattacharya said they were at the Embassy to express solidarity with the people of Palestine in the wake of the war on Gaza and the humanitarian crisis. 

"In India, everywhere, we are raising our voice with the people of the world. The voice for peace must ring louder now because what is happening in Gaza right now is not just killing of the people there indiscriminately but pushing the world to the brink of the third world war," the CPI(ML) leader said. 

On the other hand, Israel's Minister of Diaspora Affairs Amichai Chikli has thanked the Indian leadership, people of India for standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Israel in its fight against Hamas. 

"I want to thank the leadership of India, the people of India for being with us shoulder-to-shoulder in this fight against brutal, jihadist, barbaric Islamists. This is not just our war, this is your war too and we will win it together with your support," he said. 

He further said, "I want to tell the people of India - we share the same values, we cherish life, we cherish good...We believe in human values." 

He said that there are more than 120 confirmed hostages. "We will make every effort to bring them back home. It won't be simple. As you know, Hamas has absolutely zero mercy, zero human values...So, we have no expectations from Hamas. Still, we believe we might, with intelligence, with efforts, maybe we can rescue some of them," he said. 

"My recommendation for Hamas militants - lay down your weapon, raise up your hands, come from your tunnel and maybe there will be mercy," he added. 

Image Source: The Indian Express