At the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) Ministerial Meeting on Palestine in Uganda on Wednesday, Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs Rajkumar Ranjan Singh expressed India’s deep concern at the large-scale loss of civilian life and the deteriorating humanitarian crisis amid the Israel-Hamas Conflict in Gaza. Singh also expressed shock at the 7 October terrorist attack on Israel, saying that India condemns terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. Reiterating New Delhi’s support for a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine issue, he urged parties to work towards creating conditions necessary for peace.
In a move towards gender neutrality, the Indian Navy will parade a mixed platoon for the first time at this year's Republic Day parade. With Lieutenant Prajwal as Contingent Commander and Lt. Mudita Goyal, Lt. Sharvani Supreiya, and Lt. Devika H. as Platoon Commanders, 144 men and women will march down the Kartavya Path. Vice Admiral Gurcharan Singh, Navy’s Controller Personnel Services, gave the information during the Navy’s Republic Day press preview. The parade will also have triservice women marching in the contingent for the first time.
Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian stated that the Houthis are acting in their own best interests without any instructions from Tehran. “The people of Yemen and other countries in the region who defend the Palestinian people are acting according to their own experience and through their own interests,” he said. Amirabdollahian claimed that “maritime security is of paramount importance” to Iran, which exports oil, and added that regional insecurity “will not be in our favour.”
The likelihood of Israel being dragged into a conflict in Lebanon is growing, said IDF Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Herzi Halevi on Wednesday, hours after Hamas militants fired rockets into a northern Israel town. Halevi stated that Israel was “increasing its readiness for fighting in Lebanon” as it tried to stabilise its north border and allow Israelis evacuated from the region to return home. “I don’t know when the war in the north is,” Halevi added. “I can tell you that the likelihood of it happening in the coming months is much higher than it was in the past.”
Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov told reporters on Wednesday that North Korea is a “very important partner” for Russia, and Moscow is “focused on the further development” of relations in all areas, including in sensitive areas.
An explosion at a fireworks factory in central Thailand on Wednesday killed about 20 people. The cause of the explosion is currently under investigation and national police chief Torsak Sukvimol said police would pursue legal action if any wrongdoing were involved.