New Delhi:

The Congress on Tuesday said there are no differences in the party on the CWC resolution on Hamas and reminded the BJP of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee favouring the cause of Palestinian people, after the ruling party slammed it for not referring to the terror attack on Israel in its resolution.

The Congress came under attack from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for allegedly supporting Hamas and the Palestine cause, without referring to the attack on Israel.

Congress’s deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi said there are no differences within the party over the CWC document, which has favoured a resolution of the Palestine issue through dialogue.

The BJP is trying to divert people’s attention and distract them from the rift in the party over poll ticket distribution.

“It is unfortunate that the BJP is politicising the Congress Working Committee (CWC) resolution. All of us want Indians to be safe in Israel and Gaza and that they should return home safely,” Mr Gogoi told reporters when asked about the issue.

“There is no resentment and these are all rumours. It is regrettable that people are doing politics over the Congress resolution…. Whether in Israel or in Gaza, we want Indian citizens to be safe. They should come back, that should be the focus,” he said.

Mr Gogoi said senior Congress leader Jairam Ramesh explained the party’s position on X just a day earlier and referred to both the Hamas attacks and the Palestine cause.

Mr Gogoi alleged that the BJP is facing an internal revolt after the declaration of poll candidates’ names in Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, and is now trying to distract people from this internal rift and raising such issues.

“I would like to tell (BJP leader) Kailash Vijayvargiaji that he should remember Vajpayeeji’s speech and analyse what he had said.

“After the success of the Bharat Jodo Yatra, the BJP is only talking about the Congress and has forgotten its own history as well as Vajpayeeji’s speech,” he said.

BJP general secretary Mr Vijayvargia had, in a post in Hindi on X, said: “Extremely condemnable. CWC has passed a resolution in support of Palestine regarding the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas.” “The Congress has once again passed a resolution taking a decision against national policy and national interest. How low will the Congress stoop to to please the people of a particular religion? “Now, the Congress is ready to compromise with terrorism also. We and our party have also been in the opposition but never took any step against national interest. The Congress’s hand is with terrorism,” Vijayvargia said, referring to the opposition party’s poll symbol.

In its resolution, the Congress has said: “Finally, the CWC expresses its dismay and anguish on the war that has broken out in the Middle East where over a thousand people have been killed in the last two days.

“The CWC reiterates its long-standing support for the rights of the Palestinian people to land, self-government and to live with dignity and respect. The CWC calls for an immediate cease-fire and for negotiations to begin on all outstanding issues, including the imperative issues that have given rise to the present conflict.” 

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Doha/Gaza:

Qatari mediators have held urgent calls with Hamas officials to try to negotiate freedom for Israeli women and children seized by the terrorist group and held in Gaza in exchange for the release of 36 Palestinian women and children from Israel’s prisons, a source briefed on the talks told Reuters.

The ongoing negotiations, which Qatar has been conducting in coordination with the United States since Saturday night, are “moving positively” said the source, who has been briefed on them.

But there are no signs of breakthroughs as both sides dig in.

Qatar has been in touch with Hamas officials in Doha and Gaza, the source said, after the terrorist group assaulted Israel from Gaza on Saturday, storming into towns, killing more than 700 Israelis, and escaping with dozens of hostages.

The exact number of Israeli women and children hostages Hamas is offering in the potential exchange of 36 Palestinian women and children prisoners Hamas identified is not clear, the source said.

Details about negotiations focusing on the release of 36 Palestinians from Israeli jails have not previously been reported.

The number of Israeli hostages held in Gaza also remains unclear, but it is widely believed that Hamas seized women, children, elderly people and soldiers on Saturday.

A Palestinian official, familiar with mediation efforts with Hamas and Israel in the past, told Reuters that Qatar and Egypt have been in contact with the group but the intensity of the fighting cast shadows over any potential breakthrough.

In Hamas-controlled Gaza, Israel has carried out its most intensive retaliatory strikes ever, killing some 500 people since Saturday. Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel’s blockade would be tightened to prevent food and fuel from being brought into the strip, home to 2.3 million people.

Egypt has been in close contact with Israel and Hamas to try to prevent further escalation in fighting between them and to ensure the protection of the Israeli hostages, two Egyptian security sources said.

Egypt had urged Israel to exercise restraint and Hamas to hold its captives in good condition to keep open the possibility of de-escalation soon, although Israeli strikes on the Gaza Strip made mediation difficult, the Egyptian sources said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The source who had been briefed on the Qatar-led talks, also speaking on condition of anonymity, told Reuters: “There has been no agreement on logistics or a mechanism for the release.”

There was no immediate response to requests for comment sent to Qatar’s foreign ministry, Hamas or the US State Department. Israel’s prime minister’s office said it did not wish to comment.

Israelis are reeling from the assault and by images of captured fellow citizens being bundled into Gaza. Israel has said it will act to free the hostages, adhering to a longstanding principle of leaving no prisoner behind.

However, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s options for hitting Hamas over its incursion into Israel could be reined in by concern for the many Israelis seized in the raid, as a nation scarred by past hostage crises faces perhaps its worst one yet.

Qatar, a tiny but wealthy energy and investment powerhouse that holds ambitious foreign policy goals, has a direct line of communication with Hamas. Qatari envoys have previously helped mediate truces between the Islamist group and Israel.

Doha has recently been under the global diplomacy spotlight, after hosting more than a year of talks between the United States and Iran, which led to prisoner exchanges and fund releases.

While Hamas’ power base is in Gaza, some leaders are based in Qatar as well as other Middle Eastern countries.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)