NEW DELHI

A petition has been filed in the top Indian court seeking a direction to the federal government to halt licenses to Indian firms exporting arms to Israel.

The Public Interest Litigation, filed by nearly a dozen people, said: "India is bound by various international laws and treaties that obligate India not to supply military weapons to States guilty of war crimes, as any export could be used in serious violations of international humanitarian law," Press Trust of India reported.

Earlier, a group of eminent citizens in India had written to the country’s defense minister, calling on him to halt the license process that enables exporters to send arms and ammunition to Israel.

Israel, flouting a UN Security Council resolution demanding an immediate cease-fire, has faced international condemnation amid its continued brutal offensive on Gaza since an Oct. 7, 2023 attack by the Palestinian resistance group Hamas.

The onslaught has resulted in more than 40,800 Palestinian deaths, mostly women and children, and nearly 94,300 injuries, according to local health authorities.

An ongoing blockade of Gaza has led to severe shortages of food, clean water and medicine, leaving much of the region in ruins.

Israel faces accusations of genocide at the International Court of Justice, which has ordered a halt to military operations in the southern Gazan city of Rafah, where more than 1 million Palestinians had sought refuge before the area was invaded on May 6.