Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday congratulated US President Donald Trump on the success of his Gaza peace plan, during a phone conversation.
"Spoke to my friend, President Trump and congratulated him on the success of the historic Gaza peace plan," Modi said on X.
"Also reviewed the good progress achieved in trade negotiations. Agreed to stay in close touch over the coming weeks," he said.
Later on Thursday, PM Modi also spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and congratulated him on the progress made under US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan.
In a post on X, Modi said he reaffirmed that terrorism in any form or manifestation is unacceptable anywhere in the world.
“We welcome the agreement on the release of hostages and enhanced humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza,” Modi said.
US President Donald Trump announced that both Israel and Hamas have agreed to the first phase of his Gaza peace plan.
He said this would lead to the release of all hostages, alive and deceased, very soon, and the withdrawal of Israeli troops to the so-called yellow line in Gaza.
This comes after, Hamas announced that it has reached a hostage-ceasefire agreement with Israel during indirect talks in Egypt.
The group said the exchange of hostages and Palestinian prisoners would take place within 72 hours of the deal's implementation.
This marks the second phone conversation between the two leaders in a month. Their first interaction took place on September 17, when Trump called Prime Minister Modi to extend birthday wishes.
In a post on X earlier, Modi said, “We welcome the agreement on the first phase of President Trump’s peace plan. This is also a reflection of the strong leadership of PM Netanyahu. We hope the release of hostages and enhanced humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza will bring respite to them and pave the way for lasting peace.”
The Congress on Thursday sharply criticised Prime Minister Narendra Modi for what it called his “unqualified praise” of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, describing it as “shameful and morally atrocious.”
The Opposition party also accused Modi of maintaining “total silence” on the future of an independent and sovereign state of Palestine.
Launching a scathing attack on the prime minister, Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh wrote on X: “The Prime Minister has welcomed the new developments regarding Gaza and hailed President Trump. That eagerness to do so is not surprising. But what is shocking, shameful, and morally atrocious is Mr. Modi’s unqualified praise for the Israeli PM Mr. Netanyahu — who has unleashed a genocide in Gaza over the past twenty months.”
“Mr. Modi has also maintained a total silence on the future of an independent, sovereign state of Palestine that was recognised by India way back in Nov 1988, and that is now recognised by over 150 countries. Mr. Modi has also said nothing on the continued expansion of Israeli settlements in the occupied West Bank,” Ramesh added.
