New Delhi, April 10 -- India on Friday expressed deep concern over the rising number of civilian casualties in Lebanon amid continued strikes by Israel despite the two-week ceasefire imposed to halt the month-long conflict in West Asia, reiterating that the protection of civilians remains its foremost priority.

Addressing an Inter-Ministerial Briefing on recent developments in West Asia in New Delhi, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said that the current situation is "very disturbing", particularly given India's longstanding commitment to peace and stability in the region. He further said that there are about 1000 Indian nationals living in Lebanon.

"We are deeply concerned by reports of a large number of ...