A group of more than 50 string theorists in India issued a statement expressing solidarity with scholars and civilians in Iran, Palestine and Lebanon. The group described the conflict as the recent war initiated by the United States and Israel.

The statement named Sharif University of Technology, Shahid Beheshti University, Iran University of Science and Technology, Isfahan University of Technology and the Lebanese University as sites that had been attacked during the war. The group said the attacks formed part of a broader assault on civilian sites that has led to the loss of thousands of lives and displaced millions of people.

The group said almost all universities and schools in Gaza have been destroyed. The group said, "We unequivocally condemn these crimes against humanity, which will cause long-term harm to the future of education and research in these regions apart from the tragic loss of lives."

In southern Lebanon, Israeli attacks killed five people on Wednesday, including a journalist, despite an existing ceasefire. In Gaza, an Israeli air strike killed at least five Palestinians on Thursday, including three children.

India is a global leader in string theory, a mathematical framework in which the fundamental constituents of reality are one-dimensional extended objects called strings, rather than zero-dimensional point particles. String theory has attracted substantial research activity in India, with institutions across the country contributing to the field. The statement by the group of Indian string theorists drew on that academic standing to call attention to the effects of the conflict on higher education and research in the affected regions.