India on Thursday described the strikes by Hamas on Israeli cities as "terror attacks" but at the same time reaffirmed its long-standing position, advocating negotiations towards establishing a "sovereign, independent and viable" State of Palestine living side-by-side at peace with Israel.
Here's a collection of some of the best photos from around the world shot in the last 24 hours.
Deeply concerned over the escalating conflict in Gaza, India on Wednesday asked Israel and Palestine to demonstrate political will to agree to a ceasefire and return to the negotiating table.
His remarks sparked a controversy with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan targeting the Indian government over its Kashmir policy.
'Modi's visit is path breaking in the sense that India has come out of the closet and is prepared to deal with Israel openly and in a host of fields, military as well as civilian,' says P R Kumaraswamy, one of India's leading experts on the Middle-East, currently in Israel.
It is the first time that India has voted on a resolution at the UN that is being perceived as pro-Israel.
Angry Palestinian students protested against India's growing friendship with Israel at a university campus in East Jerusalem on Tuesday even as President Pranab Mukherjee was being conferred an honorary degree.
Days after India voted against it at the United Nations, Israel on Sunday hoped the Indian decision would not impact on the robust Indo-Israel ties in strategic areas of defence and security, to which they have added some more "ingredients" in the past few months.
In an unprecedented attack that few Israelis saw coming on the Jewish holiday of Simchat Torah on Saturday, Hamas fired thousands of rockets and sent dozens of fighters into Israeli towns near the Gaza Strip.
Iran was ousted from the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women on Wednesday evening in the wake of the Mahsa Amini protest.
The ceasefire, which followed mounting pressure from the United States, Egypt and other international brokers to halt the violence, came into effect on Friday.
Over 630 rockets were fired at Israel from Monday evening through Tuesday afternoon, 200 of which were intercepted by Iron Dome missile defence batteries while 150 others fell short of their targets and landed inside the Strip, according to the army.
'Assassinating the leaders of an organisation, destroying their homes, buildings and institutions are not 'wiping out' an organisation.' 'Genociding the Lebanese or the Palestinians is something that Israel cannot technically do, let alone morally afford.'
'There is no safe spot in Gaza.' 'Israeli airstrikes are targeting everything, everywhere.' 'Hospitals, mosques, churches, schools have been bombed. These are places where people were taking shelter.'
'India is respected by both Israel and Palestine.' 'India can push the international community for the peace process.'
Some experts feel that Israel got so totally engrossed in countering Iran and in efforts to foil the Islamic Republic's nuclear programme that it has neglected its own backyard.
Abbas seeks India's role in peace process as PM Modi visits Palestine.
The United Nations has expressed regret that noted human rights lawyer Amal Alamuddin will not be able to serve on an independent inquiry commission that will investigate possible human rights violations and war crimes committed, particularly in the Gaza Strip.
Stepping up its offensive, Israeli forces on Wednesday hit about 200 targets in the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip killing at least 17 people, triggering a retaliation from the Palestinian group which fired a barrage of rockets deep into the Jewish state in the bloodiest conflict since 2012.
US President-elect Donald Trump has nominated David Friedman, a fervent opponent to "two-state solution" to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, as his ambassador to Israel to maintain the special relationship between the two allies.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the United States recognises -- as have Israeli courts -- the legal conclusions relating to individual settlements must depend on an assessment of specific facts and circumstances on the ground.
The decision to speak to the political convention in pre-recorded remarks from Jerusalem breaks with the longstanding precedent of sitting secretaries of state avoiding partisan politics and appears to violate guidance on political activities that Pompeo himself emphasised in a cable to diplomats just last month.
Israeli jets on Tuesday pounded 50 Hamas targets on the Gaza Strip injuring at least 17 Palestinians as part of a military offensive code-named 'Protective Edge' after a barrage of rockets hit southern Israel amid escalating tensions in the region.
Although most of Kosovo is ethnically Albanian, many Serbs consider it their native homeland and a cradle of their culture. Some 13,000 people were killed in the 1998-1999 war, sparked by clashes between the forces of the rump Yugoslav state -- Serbia and Montenegro -- and Kosovo separatists. The conflict ended when NATO carried out an air campaign against Serbia.
India has for the first time abstained from voting on a resolution on Palestine adopted at the UN rights body that calls for accountability by parties involved in last year's conflict in Gaza.
Israeli troops backed by tanks and drones on Thursday continued to pound Gaza in its operation against Hamas, defying mounting calls for restraint and a United Nations vote to investigate the deadly offensive that has killed 720 Palestinians and 34 Israelis.
Here are some of the most stunning moments of the week that was.
Israel threatened to wipe out Hamas if current truce in Gaza collapsed as time ran out on Wednesday on the 72-hour ceasefire with no breakthrough in indirect talks between Israeli and Palestinian negotiators due to "significant disagreements".
Eyebrows went north in India, especially in New Delhi where in the confusion some people criticized the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) which is based in New York. Chitra Subramaniam offers some perspective.
The Arab Accord -- essentially bilateral agreements with Israel -- does not mention the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
United States envoy to the Middle East on Tuesday pressed Israel on "prompt resumption" of the stalled peace talks with Palestine, amid sharp differences between Washington and Tel Aviv over settlement activities in disputed areas.
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin arrived on Monday on an eight-day visit to India, the first by any Israeli President in nearly two decades.
But he politely asked the Israeli head of the government to 'hold back' on settlements in territory claimed by the Palestinians for their future state: 'for a little bit'.
He said India can have a possible role in creating a multilateral forum of negotiations between the Palestinians and Israelis.
'I wear heels. It's not for a fashion statement.' 'It's because if I see something wrong, we're going to kick them every single time.' 'If you challenge us, be prepared for what you're challenging us for, because we will respond.'
Intel and Motorola might dump Israel in favour of India and China as the hub of their activities, the Israeli representative of global IT consulting firm Gartner said.
FIFA chief Sepp Blatter, visiting the Middle East to try to persuade the Palestine FA (PFA) to drop a proposal to suspend Israel from the world body, on Tuesday proposed a peace match.
The Israeli diplomat also underlined that the objective of the attack was to cripple the Indian society, economy and culture, as well as the growing bilateral relationship between India and Israel.
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