NEW DELHI: Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Saturday stepped up his criticism of the Centre’s foreign policy, alleging that India is “slipping further into Israel’s strategic orbit” at a time when much of the world is moving away from Israel.His remarks came in support of an editorial by Congress Parliamentary Party (CPP) Chairperson Sonia Gandhi, who urged India to reclaim its independent foreign policy and speak out on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.In a post on X, Rahul Gandhi said Sonia Gandhi’s editorial called on India to “reclaim its independent foreign policy, uphold humanitarian values, and speak up with moral clarity on Gaza.”“We are slipping further into Israel’s strategic orbit, at a time when the world is increasingly pivoting away from it. The Prime Minister’s visit to Israel will go down in history as a bewildering strategic decision,” he wrote.Emphasising what he described as a humanitarian imperative, the leader of opposition in Lok Sabha added, “The spirit of Indian nationhood demands that we speak up for our Palestinian brothers and sisters whose children have been so brutally targeted.”
Kharge echoes Sonia Gandhi’s criticism
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge also backed Sonia Gandhi’s position, saying the Modi government’s foreign policy had weakened India’s traditional ties in West Asia.Referring to Sonia Gandhi’s article, Kharge wrote on X that it was “a stark reminder of how our current foreign policy has alienated our historical allies in Palestine, Iran, and the larger Middle East. We have also distanced ourselves from global public opinion”.Earlier, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra also shared excerpts from Sonia Gandhi’s article, highlighting her call for India to respond to what she described as Israel’s “genocidal actions” in Gaza and the displacement of Palestinian families in the occupied West Bank.In her article published in The Indian Express, Sonia Gandhi criticised the Modi government over what she called its continued silence on the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the West Bank, arguing that such a stance was inconsistent with India’s national interests and moral traditions.The Congress leader referred to findings of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Occupied Palestinian Territory, saying its June 2026 report, headed by retired Justice S Muralidhar, documented extensive destruction in Gaza and the impact on Palestinian children.She claimed that at least 20,000 children had been killed and another 44,000 wounded, while 97 per cent of Gaza’s schools had been destroyed.Sonia Gandhi further alleged that healthcare infrastructure, including paediatric hospitals, had been devastated, leading to a sharp rise in miscarriage and childbirth complications.The renewed political exchange comes amid the continuing conflict in Gaza. According to Politico, Israeli strikes in Gaza on June 20 killed at least six people, including two children and an Al Jazeera cameraman.The Palestinian ministry of health has alleged that the territory’s healthcare system is facing an unprecedented humanitarian crisis due to financial constraints and what it described as a continuing financial siege imposed by Israel, warning that thousands of patients are at risk as hospitals struggle to function.