Modiji stood by us, he was first to call, Biden administration was restrictive about weapons and support: Israel Ambassador in Delhi

Israel Ambassador to India Reuven Azar praised Prime Minister Modi’s leadership saying that he was the first to call after the October 7 terrorist attack on Israel by terrorist organisation Hamas. In an interview given to IANS, Azar said that PM Modi stood by Israel during the last year and a half. He added that Israel valued the friendship of PM Modi and that India and Israel would collaborate on many things in future.

“Israel looks with admiration to the achievements of India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His friendship is very dear for us. We saw he was the first to call us following the 7th of October. We saw how he stood by us during the last year and a half. We know that we think alike on many things. We look at things in a similar way. We have similar challenges. Therefore, I am confident that in the coming years, we’ll be able to do many more things together,” said Azar.

IANS Exclusive

New Delhi: Reuven Azar, Ambassador of Israel to India, says, "Israel looks with admiration to the achievements of India under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. His friendship is very dear for us. We saw he was the first to call us following the 7th… pic.twitter.com/euGHYA6DVw

— IANS (@ians_india) February 26, 2025

Azar urged leaders in and outside India to support Israel in its efforts to create a world free of violence. “Our expectation is that any peace-loving leader or party, wherever they are, in India or outside India, will join us with this quest of creating, a better world that is free of violence,” he said.

Israel had ‘some gaps’ with the Biden administration

The Israeli ambassador expressed optimism regarding the newly formed Trump government in the US based on Israel’s experience with the previous Trump regime which was instrumental in the signing of the Abraham Accords between Israel and the United Arab Emirates.

Distinguishing between the Trump and the Biden administrations, Azar said that Israel had ‘some gaps’ with the latter as it refused to provide certain weapons to Israel that the country needed for the Rafah operation. “We always had good relations with any American administration and also with the Biden administration but we had some gaps with them when it comes to the management of our struggle to defend ourselves from the Hamas attack. If you remember, the administration (Biden) tried to make us refrain from doing the Rafah operation and was also withholding some weapons that we needed for the war,” the ambassador said.

Expressing confidence in the present Trump administration, Azar said that Israel would not face any limitation under it as President Trump has openly declared support to Israel in its efforts to defend itself. He lauded President Trump’s offer to provide India with F-35 fighter jets emphasising that advanced military technologies are important to create an edge over adversaries.

Hamas leaders held a meeting in PoK

Ambassador Azar expressed concern over Hamas leaders holding a meeting in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. “Unfortunately terrorist organisations work in networks and many times they find ways to support each other. In a way, that is detrimental for many countries, not just for our region. So the fact that, for example, there was a meeting only a couple of weeks ago in the areas under Pakistani control in Kashmir of leaders of Hamas. It tells you something about – (a) how these terrorist organisations are inspiring each other, and (b) that apparently, they are cooperating in order to achieve their common goal, which is to terrorise us and to terrorise you, “he said.

Azar called out the media outlets like Al Jazeera and the BBC for doing propaganda for radical Islamists. He said that such media outlets are posing a challenge to the civilised world by promoting the values that justify violence against non-Muslims.