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PTI, Oct 24, 2023, 10:45 AM IST

AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi has appealed to Prime Minister Narendra Modi to make efforts to see that a humanitarian corridor is opened in Gaza so that people can get relief and a ceasefire announced.

He spoke to reporters after addressing a public meeting on Monday night organised at the AIMIM headquarters here ”in protest against the atrocities of Israel in Palestine”.

The Palestinian militant group Hamas launched a barrage of rocket attacks in Southern Israel on October 7. The unprecedented assault triggered retaliatory strikes from the Israel Defense Forces.

”India is sending aid. But, Israel is saying we will not allow it. We are talking about sending aid to Gaza through Rafah, Egypt. Our planes had gone. We demand Prime Minister Narendra Modi to first get a ceasefire made there. Get a ceasefire done in Gaza and a humanitarian corridor is opened there,” he said, when asked about India sending relief materials.

He observed that 50,000 women are pregnant in Gaza and that electricity, oxygen and other essential items are not available in hospitals.

The ”attack” in Gaza should be condemned, he said.

What Israel is doing in Gaza is ”genocide”, he claimed.

”The Prime Minister of the country has an additional responsibility as head of the G20 that he gets a ceasefire done and get a humanitarian corridor opened there. So that, Palestinians can get relief and their lives can be saved,” he said.

The protest public meeting condemned the alleged attempt of some state governments in India to discourage or criminalise demonstrations by the Indian people against the ”shocking Israeli crimes in the Gaza Strip including attacks on hospitals, schools, churches and mosques”.

The public meeting passed several resolutions, including supporting the struggle of the Palestinian people to end the occupation of their lands.

Another resolution said Israel must adhere to international law and UN resolutions, besides honouring the Oslo Accords of 1992-93.

Israel must end its occupation of the Gaza Strip, the West Bank, Jerusalem and all territories prior to its occupation in 1967. Israel must not prevent the formation of a free and sovereign Palestinian state any longer, the resolution said.

India must continue to honour the legacy of support to the people of Palestine, a separate resolution said.

”We call upon the government of India to remember what Mahatma Gandhi said, ”Palestine belongs to the Palestinians just as England belongs to the English and France to the French. India has always stood and acted in solidarity with victims of apartheid and colonialism, whether in South Africa, Indonesia, or Palestine. It must not forsake this history,” it said.

The public meeting condemns any use of violence to achieve political goals and mourns the loss of innocent lives, a separate resolution said.

India on Sunday sent more than 38 tonne of relief materials including medicines and medical equipment to the people of Palestine, amid mounting global concerns over the plight of civilians living in Gaza.