Noiranjana Kashyap is a Doctoral Research Scholar at the Department of Geopolitics and International Relations, Manipal Institute of Social Sciences, Humanities and Arts, Manipal Academy of Higher Education (Institution of Eminence), Manipal, India.
The Gaza conflict, which commenced in October 2023, represents a contemporary expression of the longstanding Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Its origins delve deep into history, from the Balfour Declaration of 1917, which promised a Jewish national home in Palestine, to UN Resolution 181 in 1947, which proposed partitioning the land and paved the way for Israel’s establishment in 1948. This pivotal moment triggered the Nakba or “Catastrophe” displacing approximately 700,000 Palestinians and has fostered setting the stage for generations of resentment and strife. Over the decades, these tensions have simmered and sporadically boiled over, exacerbated by events like the 1967 Six-Day War, the 1973 Yom Kippur War, and the two Intifadas in the late 1980s and early 2000s. A turning point began in 2007 with Israel’s blockade of Gaza following Hamas’s takeover, which has severely restricted the movement of goods and people, crippling the enclave’s economy and fuelling cycles of desperation.
The hostilities were ignited by a meticulously planned assault executed by Hamas on October 7, 2023 (Operation Al-Aqsa Flood), culminating in the kidnapping of 251 individuals and the demise of around 1,139 Israeli citizens. The latest escalation included a coordinated assault involving rocket barrages, ground incursions, and the abduction of around 240 hostages, resulting in the deaths of approximately 1,200 Israelis and foreigners. This brazen attack, the deadliest against Israel in its history, shattered a fragile status quo and prompted an overwhelming Israeli response. In a tit-for-tat move, Israel carried out airstrikes and precision attacks on Hamas targets in Gaza, which have led to significant civilian casualties. In retaliation, Israel launched a multifaceted military campaign, including intensive airstrikes, ground operations, and a tightened siege on Gaza, aimed at dismantling Hamas’s military infrastructure and securing the hostages’ release. The operation has exacted a devastating toll on Palestinian civilians, with Gaza’s densely populated urban landscape offering little respite from the crossfire.
As of August 2025, the military operations conducted by Israel have precipitated a profound humanitarian crisis, leading to the deaths of more than 61,599 Palestinians and the injuries of 154,088 individuals. As of October 22, 2025, according to the UNRWA figures deemed reliable by UN agencies though disputed by Israel – a the conflict has claimed 68,234 Palestinian lives and injured over 170,373 others, many with life-altering wounds requiring long-term rehabilitation. The destruction of Gaza’s infrastructure has impacted 78% of all infrastructure, and the loss of more than 500 aid workers, including 346 UN personnel, who were striving to deliver aid to Gaza’s starving, malnourished population, has intensified an already critical hunger crisis. The humanitarian catastrophe is compounded by widespread infrastructure devastation: UNOSAT assessments indicate that around 81% of Gaza’s structures – encompassing homes, schools, hospitals, and water facilities – have been damaged or destroyed, rendering much of the territory uninhabitable and displacing nearly 1.9 million people. The hunger crisis looms large, with acute malnutrition affecting thousands, particularly children, amid disrupted aid corridors. Tragically, UNRWA recorded over 380 workers killed since the war began (309 UNRWA personnel, in addition to 72 persons who were supporting UNRWA activities as of 26 October 2025), underscoring the perilous environment for those delivering essentials like food, medicine, and shelter. These losses have not only hampered relief efforts but also drawn international scrutiny, with accusations of war crimes leveled against both sides.
This localized conflict has had far-reaching geopolitical consequences. The non-state regional actors linked to Iran’s “Axis of Resistance” (such as Hezbollah, Houthis, etc.) have engaged with Israel, leading to an Israeli incursion into Lebanon, alongside numerous military operations in Syria and Yemen. This has resulted in considerable geopolitical ramifications, consequently destabilizing the region. Beyond Gaza’s borders, the war has rippled across the Middle East, igniting proxy confrontations. Iran’s “Axis of Resistance” – encompassing Hezbollah in Lebanon, the Houthis in Yemen, and militias in Syria and Iraq – has intensified attacks on Israel, prompting Israeli counterstrikes, including a limited incursion into southern Lebanon in late 2024 and drone operations in Yemen. These escalations have disrupted Red Sea shipping lanes, spiking global energy prices and straining economies dependent on the region. The conflict’s legal dimensions have further globalized the crisis – South Africa’s 2023 genocide case against Israel at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) has progressed, with provisional measures ordering Israel to prevent genocidal acts and ensure aid access. As of October 2025, the ICJ’s deliberations continue, amplified by reports from UN experts highlighting potential violations of international humanitarian law.The United States’ unwavering support through billions in military aid and vetoes of UN Security Council resolutions has polarized global opinion, testing the pillars of multilateralism. Amid this turmoil, a tentative breakthrough emerged on October 9, 2025, when Israel and Hamas approved a UN-brokered ceasefire resolution, including phased hostage releases and humanitarian pauses. Hailed by India as a “landmark”step toward Middle East stability, this deal offers a fragile respite but underscores the need for sustained diplomacy to address root causes like settlements and statehood.
In this context, India has demonstrated a balancing act, weighing its longstanding commitment to upholding the Palestinian cause against its newfound strategic relations with Israel. India’s foreign policy regarding the Israel-Palestine conflict has gone through distinct phases of evolution. Rooted in anti-colonial ethos, India’s stance has evolved through three discernible phases, reflecting shifts in global alignments, domestic priorities, and security imperatives. In the first phase, India followed a policy of unwavering support for Palestine, with Mahatma Gandhi vehemently opposing the establishment of a Jewish state, stating that it would adversely affect the rights of its indigenous population, and Jawaharlal Nehru, who passionately championed the Non-Aligned Movement, condemning the UN Partition Plan as a continuation of British imperial interests. However, eventually, India recognized the state of Israel in 1950. Yet, this did not deter India from continuing with its historic pro-Palestine stance. For instance, India supported Egypt during the Suez Canal Crisis and the Arab states during the 1967 Six-Day War. India also became the first non-Arab country to recognize the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) as the sole representative of the Palestinian people in 1974, followed by the opening of the PLO office in New Delhi in 1975, signalling the beginning of full diplomatic recognition. Along with this, India also became one of the first states to recognize the Palestinian state following its declaration of independence in 1988, establishing the Indian Representative Office in Gaza in 1996 (relocated to Ramallah in 2003), and voting for Palestine’s UNESCO membership in 2011.
Yet, this phase coexisted with an undercurrent of affinity for Jewish heritage. For over 2,000 years, India hosted thriving Jewish communities free from the pogroms of Europe. Though emigration to Israel post-1948 dwindled their numbers to under 5,000 today, their synagogues and festivals enrich India’s pluralistic tapestry, foreshadowing warmer Indo-Israeli bonds. The second phase, ignited by 1991’s economic liberalization, heralded a pivot. Following the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet Union, India’s foreign policy underwent a significant shift. The LPG reforms opened doors to Western capital, including from Israel, culminating in full diplomatic ties in 1992. Moreover, the shared strategic interests between India and Israel, such as counter-terrorism and defense, played a crucial role in bringing the two nations closer. Israel’s help during the 1971 India-Pakistan War and the 1999 Kargil War, when Israel provided crucial arms, ammunition, and intelligence resources to India, further cemented this blossoming relationship.
The third and current phase of amicable relations between the two countries was witnessed during the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s historic visit to Israel in 2017, when India-Israel ties were upgraded to strategic partnership, a feat resulting from India’s growing collaborations with Israeli tech companies in the fields of defense, cybersecurity, water management and agricultural technologies such as drip irrigation and water desalinization, with Netafim, Rafael, Elbit Systems, and Checkpoint becoming the catalysts headlining such collaborations, aided by the Israeli MASHAV program, firmly illustrating Israel’s image as a reliable defense partner and a ‘problem solver.’ Economically, Israeli firms like Elbit have invested around US $1 billion. Following such warm interactions, India has adopted a policy of ‘de-hyphenation’ in its relations with Palestine, allowing the state to carefully balance its profound commitment to the two-state solution while simultaneously reinforcing its strategic partnership with Israel. Despite growing ties with Israel, India has not abandoned its support for Palestine. India has recently allocated US$141 million for initiatives such as the Palestine-India Techno Park, medical aid, hospitals, colleges, ICT centers, libraries, etc., and support for the UN Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) for Palestinian refugees, while also voting against Israeli settlements in the Occupied Palestinian Territories consistently and as recently as November, 2023.
This balancing act has become even more significant during the recent conflict that escalated after the 7 October 2025 attacks and the subsequent confrontation between Israel and Hamas which controlled the Gaza strip. The October 2023 flare-up tested this equipoise acutely. While India has condemned the terror attacks on Israel on October 7th, 2023, it has also expressed deep concern regarding the consequent Israeli bombardment of Gaza, which has continued ever since, resulting in significant civilian casualties and a looming humanitarian crisis. India’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations has reaffirmed the country’s unwavering commitment to the Palestinian cause by advocating for the urgent necessity of immediate cessation of hostilities and establishment of a ceasefire. Yet, analyzing India’s voting history at the UN during the conflict demonstrates a cautious approach aimed at preserving amicable ties with Israel and the US. Although India has called for a ceasefire, it has repeatedly abstained from voting for it over the last two years. India has attributed its rationale for abstaining from such resolutions to perceived inequity and the absence of dialogue, describing it as an anomaly in the voting trends observed across Asia. Nevertheless, India has continued to provide humanitarian aid to Gaza, delivering nearly 70 tons of assistance in October and November of 2023, and a subsequent 65 tons in 2024, with the total developmental assistance to Palestine now totalling around US$160 million.
India’s approach towards the current conflict in Gaza has several geopolitical dimensions. India’s energy security is rooted in the secured maritime routes of the Indian Ocean, and any destabilizing events in West Asia, which account for 51% crude oil imports, especially during periods of Israel-Houthi confrontations, have a direct impact on such supply chains. The Indian Ocean’s chokepoints demand stable sea lanes, where Israeli intel aids maritime surveillance. Conversely, 8.5 million Indian expatriates in the Gulf remit US $100 billion yearly, while India’s trade with the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states hit US $200 billion. Thus, India’s foreign policy has evolved significantly from a basic zero-sum game pertaining to the Arab states and Israel which illustrates the shifting power dynamics of the region. Balancing these, India deepened UAE ties via I2U2,(India-Israel-US-UAE), countering China’s Belt and Road inroads such as Huawei’s 5G dominance and Iran’s Chabahar rivalries. The ceasefire eases these pressures, potentially unlocking reconstruction contracts for Indian firms.
India’s ‘de-hyphenation’ policy successfully balanced vital strategic ties with Israel and historic support for Palestine for two decades. However, the catastrophic 2023–2025 Gaza conflict and subsequent West Asian destabilization have severely tested this cautious equilibrium, directly imperiling India’s core national interests, including energy security, the Gulf diaspora, and connectivity projects like I2U2. Moving forward, India’s aspiration to global leadership (‘Vishwa Guru’) necessitates a shift beyond passive diplomacy. The sustainability of its strategic autonomy is now contingent on translating its balanced position into concrete, assertive diplomatic initiatives that actively support international humanitarian law and contribute to regional stabilization.
Disclaimer: The views expressed in the article are personal.
