Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday kicked off the Voice of Global South Summit with a reiteration of India’s stand against the October 7 Hamas terror attack against Israel but emphasized that “dialogue, diplomacy and restraint” were the need of the hour as he condemned civilian deaths in the ongoing war.

“We all are seeing that new challenges are emerging from the events in the West Asia region. India has condemned the terrorist attack in Israel on October 7. We have exercised restraint as well. We have given emphasis on dialogue and diplomacy. We also strongly condemn the deaths of civilians in the conflict between Israel and Hamas,” Modi said in his address at the inaugural session of the summit.