Terming India a crucial “moral voice” across the world, Israeli Ambassador to India, Naor Gilon, has urged New Delhi to designate Hamas as a terror organisation in India as well, even as a report from Tel Aviv said that Israeli fighter jets carried out overnight airstrikes over 250 Hamas sites in the Gaza Strip, including a rocket launch site that was hidden between a mosque and kindergarten, Times of Israel reported on Thursday. IDF has called this “another proof” that terror group Hamas uses “civilian sites for terror purposes”.
The sites struck by Israel included Hamas infrastructure, command centers, tunnels, and rocket launchers, according to the IDF. The IDF said that the rocket launchers were “placed in the heart of civilian areas that fired toward Israeli territory throughout the war”.
Meanwhile, Israeli Ambassador to India, Naor Gilon, stated that both India and Israel have a “shared war” against terror and counter-terrorism is one of the areas where the countries align. Speaking at a press briefing, Gilon said, “Prime Minister Modi Ji was among the first leaders in the world to come out with a clear statement…this was before we had understood the full magnitude of what had happened…I think, that set a very strong tone of clear condemnation of terrorism. It’s important to us because India is a very close ally”.
“India is also a very important moral voice in the world and when it comes to terror, India is also coming from the point of view of someone who knows what they’re talking about being victims for so many years of terrorism,” he added.
Gilon cited several countries that have designated Hamas as a terror group. “I think that it’s also time to officially designate Hamas as a terror organisation also in India. Most of the democracies, the EU, US, Canada, and Australia, I believe have already done this, and I think it’s good,” he said.
The Israeli envoy further said that Israel has spoken with relevant authorities in India and the two countries are having dialogue on the issue. “We spoke to the relevant authorities also here. It’s not the first time we speak about it. We understand the problems of terror threats of each other. I think it’s a natural thing. It’s not something that we are putting pressure on. We are asking because I think it’s something that is due because of our shared war on terror,” Gilon said.
He added, “We raised it after the attack and we are still in dialogue. We are speaking always with India. It’s a friendly talk. We are not having battles on anything. We see eye to eye on a vast majority of things, on counter-terrorism for sure, but also in other strategic issues.”
Hamas launched a massive terror attack on Israel on October 7, killing more than 1,400 people. PM Modi was one of the first global leaders to condemn the terror attack and express solidarity with Israel.
