Time has come for India to “officially designate” Hamas as a “terror organisation”, Israel said on Wednesday, even as it hailed New Delhi's "solid support" to its operations against the outfit.
In a media briefing, Israeli ambassador to New Delhi Naor Gilon said the need for proscribing Hamas – the militant group that controls Gaza Strip – as a terrorist organisation was taken up with India following the deadly attacks on Israeli cities on October 7. He noted that the matter had been taken up earlier as well.
"The important countries for us are with us. These are the democracies of the world. Having said that...I think it is also time to officially designate Hamas in India as a terror organisation," Gilon said, adding that many countries, including the US, Canada, as well as the leading grouping, the European Union, have already designated Hamas as a terror outfit.
"We spoke to the relevant authorities here. It is not the first time we spoke about it. I think we both understand the threat of terrorism. It is not something we are putting pressure on. We think it is something due because of our shared war on terror," Gilon said.
"We raised the issue after the attack and we are still in dialogue. We are speaking to India. It is a friendly talk...we see eye-to-eye on the vast majority of things including on counter-terrorism and other strategic issues," he said.
In Israel, over 1,400 people were killed in the unprecedented attacks launched by Hamas on October 7. The militant group also held more than 220 people hostage in Gaza, a few of whom it recently released.
Meanwhile, authorities in Gaza have reported nearly 6,500 deaths in ongoing retaliatory strikes by Israel.
Israel has also vowed to deepen the attacks on Gaza as its military prepares for a ground offensive.
Gilon thanked India for its support to Israel in its anti-terror operations against Hamas, referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's post on X expressing solidarity with people of Israel.
"Prime Minister Modi ji was among the first leaders in the world to come out with a very clear statement," he said, adding that Modi's comments unequivocally condemning terrorism set a "very clear tone".
"It is important to us as India is a very close ally. But India is also a very important moral voice of the world. When it comes to terrorism, India is also coming from the point of view of someone who knows what it is talking about being itself a victim of terrorism," Gilon noted.
"If people think that they can attack Israel, we will be attacked all the time. So vulnerability is not much appreciated. We have to make sure that people who have bad ideas about us are not able to execute them," he said.
The envoy said any indication of Hamas winning in the war against Israel may trigger a ripple effect in the region. "The success of Hamas is not an option for moderate regimes in the Middle East. They do not want such a scenario," he said.
The Israeli envoy also alleged that Iran has been supporting Hamas. "For years, Iran has been financing, training and equipping Hamas," he claimed. In the past, Iran has rejected the allegation.
