Arabic version: حرب غزة تعمّق تحوّل الهند نحو إسرائيل في عهد مودي

According to Al Jazeera, India’s relationship with Israel has become more openly aligned under Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with the war on Gaza accelerating a shift that began after his Bharatiya Janata Party took power in 2014.

In September 2025, Israeli Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich made a multi-city visit to India, signing a trade deal in New Delhi, visiting Mumbai’s stock exchange and travelling to an investment hub in Gujarat. Al Jazeera reported that several countries, including the United Kingdom, France, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and Norway, had barred Smotrich from entry.

India has continued to support a two-state solution and called for aid access and peace, but has avoided stronger measures against Israel. Navdeep Suri, a former Indian diplomat, said New Delhi should take more principled positions, while describing reluctance to criticise Israeli settler attacks, force in Gaza and actions against Iran.

Modi condemned the Hamas-led October 7, 2023 attack on Israel as a “terrorist attack”. During a February visit to Israel, he referred to India’s 2008 Mumbai attacks and said India and Israel had a policy of “zero tolerance for terrorism with no double standards”. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told Modi in Jerusalem: “You are a great friend of Israel. You are more than a friend. You are a brother.”

Analysts told Al Jazeera that security, defence and intelligence cooperation are central to the relationship, alongside domestic political considerations. Rasheed Kidwai, a political analyst in New Delhi, said India’s Israel policy should be seen as an extension of a domestic narrative. Suri said the relationship, once largely covert, had become much more open under Modi.