India on Friday expressed its deep concern about the “large number of civilian casualties” in Lebanon, which was subjected to relentless bombing by Israeli forces over the past month, while New Delhi stressed the protection of civilians and the need to respect international law and the sovereignty of states.
Israeli forces have invaded southern Lebanon, destroying vital infrastructure such as bridges, after Hezbollah fired rockets into Israel on March 2. The Israeli bombing and invasion campaign resulted in the deaths of 1,800 people and the injury of 5,873 others in Lebanon. The deadly bombing campaign on Wednesday alone killed 303 people and threatened to derail the fragile truce between Iran and the United States.
“We are deeply concerned about reports of a large number of civilian casualties in Lebanon,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said in a press conference. “As a troop-contributing country to UNIFIL (the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon) that is invested in peace and security in Lebanon, the trend of events is extremely worrying.”
Although the speaker did not mention Israel, the remarks were a rare criticism of Israel’s actions in the region.
In response to a question about the situation in Lebanon, Jaiswal said that it is necessary to observe international law and respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of countries. “India has always emphasized the protection of civilians as the highest priority,” he said.
He said that the Indian Embassy in Beirut is in close contact with the Indian community in Lebanon, which numbers about 1,000 people, to ensure its safety and security.
Israeli forces bombed more than 100 targets across Lebanon within 10 minutes on Wednesday, despite an Iranian-US ceasefire agreement that official statements said included Lebanon. He described the killing of 303 people and the injury of 1,150 others as the worst mass killings in Lebanon since the end of the country’s civil war in 1990.
Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian said that the strikes violate the US-Iranian truce and threaten to undermine the negotiations. More than 1.1 million people were displaced due to Israeli bombing and invasion during the past month.
Jaiswal said that India is closely following developments in West Asia and communicating with countries in the region. This includes trips by Petroleum Minister Hardeep Puri to Qatar from April 9 to 10 and to the UAE by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar from April 11 to 12 to strengthen relations and ensure energy security in India.
Jaiswal said that Puri conveyed India’s message of solidarity and support to Prince Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdul Rahman bin Jassim Al Thani. He added that the Qatari Minister of Energy reaffirmed Doha’s commitment to remaining a reliable energy supplier and enhancing cooperation in the energy field with India.
Qatar is India’s largest supplier of LNG (11.19 million metric tons worth $6.39 billion in 2024-25) and LPG (4.89 million metric tons worth $3.21 billion in 2024-2025).
Even as India focuses on enhancing its energy security, it supports its neighbors to meet their energy needs. Jaiswal noted that India has supplied Sri Lanka with 38,000 metric tons of fuel and is finalizing a government-to-government agreement to supply oil and gas to Mauritius.
Asim Mahajan, Additional Secretary for Gulf Affairs in the Ministry of External Affairs, said in a press conference that 2,180 Indian nationals, including 981 students and 657 fishermen, have so far returned from Iran via Armenia and Azerbaijan.
