India is seen as a credible country that can help in the peace talks between Russia and Ukraine because it is one of few major powers with working relationships with both countries, according to a report in Al Jazeera.

It cited a foreign affairs expert as saying that India’s strategic autonomy puts it in a position to push for peace because New Delhi is “friends with both” sides.

India has also been even-handed. In July, it summoned Moscow’s charge d’affaires to condemn a Russian strike on a merchant vessel that killed 10 people, including four Indian crew members. Days later, it summoned Ukraine’s ambassador over an Indian seafarer killed in a Ukrainian drone strike on the MV Omorfi, the report observes.

It highlights that India is also an importer of goods from both Russia and Ukraine. In the 2025-26, India imported 1.46 million tonnes of sunflower oil from Russia and 443,000 tonnes from Ukraine, according to the Indian Solvent Extractors’ Association (SEA), alongside large volumes of Russian crude.

The article cites Maximilian Hess, a fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute, as saying that Zelenskyy approached India “because they have leverage over Moscow, and they are still one of the few major buyers of its oil.”

He added that a large amount of Russian money sits in the Indian financial system, which Moscow wants to keep access to.

Before Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, about a third of the world’s grain exports passed through the Black Sea, with Ukraine supplying a tenth of global wheat exports and 15 percent of maize. Disruption hits food-importing countries hardest, particularly in Africa and parts of Asia, the report states.

Indian officials point out that India as a leading voice of the Global South is keen that food exports to these developing nations resume to prevent adequate supplies and controlling rising inflation.

Both Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have discussed the issue of opening the food corridor over a phone call.

“India is ready to mediate in establishing food corridors, and we are counting on these efforts to continue,” Zelenskyy posted on X after call. The leaders discussed Russia’s blocking of grain exports in the Black Sea, he said.

PM Modi said India was ready to contribute “in every possible way” towards a peaceful resolution of the Russia-Ukraine conflict.

External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar, during a visit to Kyiv in September, spoke of a potential pause on strikes against Black Sea shipping and energy infrastructure. On October 4, he said India was talking to both Russia and Ukraine about shipping safety, grain and energy exports and “non-attack possibilities”.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha earlier called India’s proposal “the broadest”, because it covers both the Black Sea and energy infrastructure. The US plan offers only a halt to strikes on energy facilities.

Israel has blamed Hamas for the suffering of Palestinians in Gaza and said reconstruction could not begin until the group disarmed, a day after US President Donald Trump’s Board of Peace criticised Israel for delays in allowing humanitarian supplies into the war-devastated enclave.

In a statement posted on X on Tuesday (local time), Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s office said Israel had facilitated the entry of more than 91,000 tents and over 8,200 trucks carrying winter supplies, including blankets, clothing and tarpaulins.

“Hamas alone is responsible for the suffering of the people of Gaza,” the statement said, adding that the group’s refusal to disarm remained the main obstacle to reconstruction.

As of November 8, humanitarian partners had received appeals for aid from more than 26,000 households whose shelters or belongings were damaged. More than 6,000 family shelters were reportedly destroyed and 17,400 damaged, and more than 3,900 households currently have no shelter at all, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

The Board of Peace said Monday that Israel’s response to the winter emergency remained “insufficient” and called for the immediate entry of essential shelter, sanitation and drainage equipment.

It said Israeli delays had aggravated a foreseeable humanitarian crisis, while also urging Hamas to disarm and relinquish power, according to Xinhua news agency.

The Board of Peace, chaired by Trump, was formally established in January 2026, following an October 2025 ceasefire between Israel and Hamas to oversee the implementation of Trump’s peace plan, including Gaza’s transitional governance and reconstruction.

The OCHA said about 1.4 million Palestinians, or 65 per cent of Gaza’s population, were living in tents or makeshift shelters. It warned that humanitarian shelter stocks inside Gaza were virtually exhausted, while more than 150,000 tents remained outside the territory awaiting entry.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry has rejected France’s “baseless and malicious” accusation of Iran’s involvement in a cyberattack targeting refrigeration systems at hundreds of French supermarkets in October.

In a statement issued on Tuesday (local time), the ministry strongly condemned the “threadbare” policy of hurling accusations against Iran.

The ministry said the latest accusation was a continuation of previous claims aimed at diverting public attention from France’s “destructive policies” toward Iran and the West Asia region, calling it an “irresponsible and silly action” aiming to tarnish Iran’s image and disrupt its relations with other countries.

It stressed that Iran would not hesitate to take “necessary and appropriate” measures to protect its national interests and security in the face of “illegal foreign activities.”

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot on Monday said Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps was responsible for the cyberattack targeting refrigeration systems, reports Xinhua news agency.

Speaking to reporters in Paris after a meeting of Group of Seven foreign ministers, Barrot said France had summoned the Iranian ambassador to Paris to lodge a “strong protest” over the attack.

Meanwhile, amid this, the Italian Interior Ministry on Tuesday announced that Italy will strengthen cybersecurity coordination, information sharing and investment in system protection following recent cyberattacks affecting several European countries.

The steps were agreed at a meeting of the National Committee for Public Order and Security, chaired by Interior Minister Matteo Piantedosi.

Participants examined the resilience of Italy’s systems, continuity of services and methods used in the recent attacks, according to a ministry statement.

As investigations continued, the committee identified a common intent behind the examined incidents: to cause instability and spread alarms that later proved unfounded, and damage the reputation of targeted institutions.

The meeting also assessed cybersecurity threats and considered further measures to protect public administrations, critical infrastructure, businesses and citizens.

Agreed steps included closer coordination of ongoing intelligence and investigative work among police, intelligence services and cybersecurity bodies, greater information sharing with public and private operators, and investment to strengthen system protection and response capabilities.