Modi speaks to Bibi as tensions rise in West Asia
Modi’s call for restrain is significant in the context of remarks by several Israeli officials about a possible incursion by ground forces into Lebanon
Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday reiterated India’s opposition to terrorism and simultaneously urged his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu to prevent regional escalation, saying New Delhi will support for early restoration of peace in West Asia.
Modi made the remarks during a conversation with Netanyahu that focused on the latest developments in West Asia. The interaction came days after an Israeli air strike in Lebanon killed senior Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah, triggering fears about an escalation of the conflict in Gaza.
“Spoke to Prime Minister @netanyahu about recent developments in West Asia. Terrorism has no place in our world,” Modi said in a post on X.
“It is crucial to prevent regional escalation and ensure the safe release of all hostages. India is committed to supporting efforts for an early restoration of peace and stability,” he added, referring to scores of Israelis who continue to be held by Hamas after being abducted during the terror attacks of October 7, 2023.
The development came hours after the Israel army on Monday said its forces “eliminated” Hamas’s leader in Lebanon. “Overnight ... the IAF (air force) struck and eliminated the terrorist Fatah Sharif, head of the Lebanon branch in the Hamas terrorist organisation,” the military said in a statement.
Sharif “was responsible for coordinating Hamas’ terror activities in Lebanon with Hezbollah operatives. He was also responsible for Hamas’ efforts in Lebanon to recruit operatives and acquire weapons,” the statement said. Hamas said that Sharif was killed in an air strike on his home in the Al-Bass camp in southern Lebanon. The group said he was killed with his wife, son and daughter in a “terrorist and criminal assassination”.
Separately, an airstrike on Monday hit an apartment building in central Beirut — the first to hit in the heart of the Lebanese capital in nearly a year of conflict — and killed three members of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine, a small, leftist Palestinian faction.
Modi’s call for restrain is significant in the context of remarks by several Israeli officials about a possible incursion by ground forces into Lebanon. Israel has also mounted air strikes on Iran-aligned groups in Syria and Yemen. Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei’s has pledged to avenge the killing of Nasrallah, and experts believe any attack by Tehran could intensify the conflict in West Asia.
India initially expressed solidarity with Israel after the October 7 terror attacks but subsequently adopted a more nuanced position in view of its growing strategic ties with several Arab states, including Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The Indian side has pushed for an immediate end to hostilities, release of hostages, resumption of humanitarian aid for Gaza, and the resumption of diplomacy and dialogue that leads to a two-State solution.
Modi’s conversation with Netanyahu came a little more than a week after his meeting with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on the sidelines of the Summit of the Future in New York on September 22. During that meeting, Modi expressed “deep concern” at the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and the deteriorating security situation in the region and reiterated India’s support to the people of Palestine, including humanitarian assistance.
He reiterated India’s “time-tested principled position” on the Israel-Palestine issue and called for a ceasefire and return to the path of dialogue. He also stressed that only a two-state solution will deliver enduring peace and stability in the region.
Meanwhile, Netanyahu told Iranians in a brief video message on Monday that nowhere in the Middle East was beyond Israel’s reach. Speaking in English, he blamed the Iranian government for plunging the region “deeper into war” at the cost of its own people. “There is nowhere we will not go to protect our people and protect our country,” he said.
He accused the Iranian government of bringing its people “closer to the abyss”, and said the two sides will be at peace when Iran is “finally free”. He also referred to Nasrallah, killed on Saturday in Beirut, as a puppet of the Iranian regime.
Iran’s foreign ministry said the country won’t deploy forces to Lebanon or Gaza to confront Israel. “There is no need to send extra or volunteer forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran,” said foreign ministry spokesman Nasser Kanani, adding Lebanon and fighters in the Palestinian territories “have the capability and strength to defend themselves against the aggression”.
However, Kanani said Israel “will not remain without reprimand and punishment for the crimes it has committed against the Iranian people, military personnel and the resistance forces”.