October 1, 2024
NEW DELHI – Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on the recent developments in West Asia, and said that “terrorism has no place in our world.”
PM Modi spoke to the Israeli Prime Minister as tensions in the Middle East increased following Tel Aviv’s assassination of Hezbollah Chief Hassan Nasrallah.
In a post on X, the Prime Minister said: “Spoke to Prime Minister @netanyahu about recent developments in West Asia. Terrorism has no place in our world. 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.”
Following Nasrallah’s death, Netanyahu had issued a warning to Iran’s Ayatollah regime, asserting that those who target Israel will face consequences and that no location in Iran or the Middle East is beyond Israel’s reach.
He called Nasrallah as the “main engine of Iran’s axis of evil” and added, “Nasrallah was not just another terrorist; he was the terrorist. He was the axis of the axis, the main engine of Iran’s axis of evil. He and his people were the architects of the plan to destroy Israel. He was not only operated by Iran; he also frequently operated Iran.”
The Iran-backed Hezbollah sustained a string of deadly blows to its command structure, including the killing of its overall leader, Hassan Nasrallah, as part of a wave of increasingly brazen Israeli strikes meant to undercut the group’s capacity to attack its territory.
Before Nasrallah’s killing, Netanyahu brushed off a ceasefire proposal brokered by the US and France that called for a 21-day pause in fighting across the Israel-Lebanon border, infuriating American officials who had been led to believe that he was on board.
Israel informed the US that it was launching its major operation in Beirut only after it was underway — again, to the frustration of some American officials.
Tens of thousands of Israelis and Lebanese have been forced to evacuate near the Israel-Lebanon border as Hezbollah has launched near-daily rocket volleys at Israel over the past 11 months and Israel has countered with its own strikes.