Priyanka Gandhi slams Indian govt for 'silence' on 'Israel committing genocide'; envoy hits back

New Delhi: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday said the Israeli state is committing "genocide" and it is "shameful" that the Indian government is standing "silent" as Israel unleashes this devastation on the people of Palestine. Hitting back at the Congress leader, Israeli Ambassador to India Reuven Azar said, "What is shameful is your deceit. Israel Killed 25,000 Hamas terrorists. The terrible cost in human lives derives from Hamas's heinous tactics of hiding behind civilians, their shooting of people trying to evacuate or receive assistance and their rocket fire." "Israel facilitated 2 million tonnes of food into Gaza while Hamas tries to sequestrate them, thereby creating hunger. Gaza population has grown 450 per cent in the last 50 years, no genocide there. Don't buy Hamas numbers," Azar said on X, tagging Priyanka Gandhi's post on the microblogging platform.

The Congress slammed the Israeli ambassador's remarks as "unacceptable" and condemned the words used by him in response to the "pain and anguish" expressed by Priyanka Gandhi. Priyanka Gandhi said the Israeli state is "committing genocide" and has "murdered over 60,000 people, 18,430 of whom were children". "It has starved hundreds to death including many children and is threatening to starve millions," she said in a post on X. In her post, the Congress general secretary also asserted that enabling these crimes by silence and inaction is a crime in itself. "It is shameful that the Indian Government stands silent as Israel unleashes this devastation on the people of Palestine," she said. In another post on X, Priyanka Gandhi said the "cold blooded murder" of five Al Jazeera journalists is another heinous crime committed on Palestinian soil and asserted that the immeasurable courage of those who dare to stand for the truth will never be broken by the violence and hatred of the Israeli state. Al Jazeera journalist Anas al-Sharif has been killed, along with four colleagues, in a targeted Israeli attack on a tent housing journalists in Gaza City, according to the Al Jazeera media network. "The cold blooded murder of five Al Jazeera journalists is yet another heinous crime committed on Palestinian soil," Priyanka Gandhi said. The immeasurable courage of those who dare to stand for the truth will never be broken by the violence and hatred of the Israeli state, she added. "In a world where much of the media is enslaved to power and commerce, these brave souls reminded us of what true journalism is. May they rest in peace," she said.

After the Israeli envoy attacked Priyanka Gandhi, Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "The Indian National Congress condemns the words used by Israel's Ambassador to India in response to the pain and anguish expressed by Smt. Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, MP, on Israel's continuing genocide in Gaza." "It is too much to expect the Modi government, which has shown extreme moral cowardice when it comes to speaking out on Israel's destruction of Gaza over the past 18-20 months, to take serious exception and objection to the Ambassador's response. We do and find it totally unacceptable," Ramesh said. Priyanka Gandhi has been raising her voice against Israel's actions in Gaza and expressing solidarity with Palestinians. The UN Human Rights Office on Monday condemned Sunday's air strike targeting the journalists' tent in a grave breach of international humanitarian law.