India saddened by upsurge of violence in Gaza

New Delhi, Apr 18 (UNI) India today said it was ''saddened'' at the upsurge of violence in Gaza and reaffirmed that dialogue was the only viable option to effectively address the issues confronting the region.

It also reiterated its call to all sides to abjure violence.

''India is saddened at the upsurge of violence in Gaza over the past week which has led to the loss of many Palestinian and Israeli lives,'' the External Affairs Ministry said.

It said in a statement that wilful damage caused to Gaza's already fragile infrastructure facilities, would only add to the difficulties that the people of the Gaza Strip continue to face.

The statement said India remained ''firmly convinced'' that dialogue was the only viable option that can effectively address the issues confronting the region and its people.

''We reiterate our call to all sides to abjure violence,'' the statement added.

Gaza has been witnessing renewed violence over the past week Yesterday Israeli troops killed a Palestinian militant trying to cross over from Gaza, and wounded another. Israel fired at the militants, hitting two of them.

On April 9, Palestinian militants infiltrated Israel through the Nahal Oz border in northern Gaza and killed two Israeli civilians.

About 20 Palestinian militants were killed in Israeli airstrikes and ground battles with Palestinian militants in Gaza.

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