Modi govt should demand that Israel halt war, accept ceasefire in Gaza: CPI-M

It said despite the direction given by the International Court of Justice to halt the offensive on Rafah, the Israeli armed forces are continuing their inhuman attacks.

The CPI-M on Tuesday said the government should demand that Israel halt its war and accept a ceasefire in Gaza, as the party denounced Tel Aviv’s airstrike on a camp in Rafah.

In a statement, the party also said all arms exports to Israel should be stopped. "The Polit Bureau of the CPI(M) denounces the Israeli atrocity on a tent camp in Rafah, which has killed 45 people. The Israeli air strike on the camp, in which displaced people were living, has caused the death of 20 women and children," the CPI(M) said in a statement. It said despite the direction given by the International Court of Justice to halt the offensive on Rafah, the Israeli armed forces are continuing their inhuman attacks.

"The death toll in the genocidal war on Gaza has now crossed 36,000 with thousands more buried under the rubble," it said. The party called upon people to raise their voices against the "genocidal war", and also urged the Narendra Modi government to demand that Israel halt its war."The CPI(M) calls upon all democratic and peace-loving people in India to raise their voice of protest against Israel’s genocidal war and demand an immediate halt to the Rafah offensive and the enforcement of a ceasefire".

"The Modi government should forthwith demand that Israel halt its war and accept a ceasefire. The government should also stop all arms exports to Israel which are being used in this barbaric war," the CPI-M said. Israel has faced condemnation for the strikes on the southern Gaza city of Rafah that local health officials said killed at least 45 Palestinians, including displaced people living in tents that were engulfed by fire.

The strike caused widespread outrage, including from some of Israel’s closest allies. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said it was the result of a "tragic mishap".