New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi revealed that India sent an envoy to Israel urging them to stop the airstrike in Gaza during Ramadan. He said that he urged Israel to maintain peace rather than engage in combat during the holy month.
In an interview with Aaj Tak, PM Modi said that his envoy told Israel they should not bomb Gaza, at least during the auspicious month of Ramadan.
"During the month of Ramzan, I sent my special envoy to Israel to meet and explain to Prime Minister (Benjamin Netanyahu) that he should not carry out bombings in Gaza during Ramzan. They made every effort to follow it, but in the end, there was a fight for 2-3 days," he said.
The Prime Minister said that he does not publicise such things even though people in India keep "cornering him on the Muslims issue".
PM Modi said that some other countries also tried to speak to Israel to halt the bombings and may have also achieved results.
"They may have got the results too. I also tried," he said.
The war in Gaza broke out after the October 7 attack by Hamas terrorists on southern Israel, which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,170 people, mostly civilians.
Israel's military retaliation has killed at least 35,233 people, mostly civilians, according to the health ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza. Benjamin Netanyahu says that the assault will continue till Hamas has been destroyed.
During the interview, PM Modi also said that he made standalone visits to both Israel and Palestine, unlike earlier governments which used to display token secularism.
"There was a fashion earlier that if one has to go to Israel, a visit to Palestine is a must. Do secularism and come back. But I refused to do it," he said.
The Prime Minister also recounted an episode when he needed to travel to Palestine via Jordan.
"When the President of Jordan, who is a direct descendent of Prophet Muhammad, came to know that I am going to Palestine over (the airspace of Jordan), he told me 'Modi ji, you cannot go like this. You are my guest and will use my helicopter'."
Describing the unique amalgamation of circumstances, he continued, "I went to his home for dinner, but the helicopter was of Jordan, the destination was Palestine, and I was escorted by Israeli flight attendants. All three are different but for Modi, all came together in the sky."