Indian soldiers in Gaza have been implicated in disturbing actions, prompting questions about India's dual role as an aid provider and participant in the conflict. Israel's influence on India, shared intelligence, and support in international forums have drawn attention, fuelling concerns that India may adopt similar tactics in Kashmir.

Since October 7, 2023, the world has appealed for an immediate ceasefire in Gaza. However, instead of a ceasefire, Israel has intensified its infiltration, and Netanyahu has stated that no one can halt Israel's war to crush Hamas, including the World Court.¹ 
As of January 21, 2024, Gaza's Health Ministry has reported that the war has resulted in the deaths of more than 25,000 innocent civilians,² with thousands injured and a significant number of people displaced. More than 85 percent of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million have been displaced due to Israel's air and ground offensive, and vast swaths of the territory have been leveled.³ The World Food Programme (WFP), World Health Organization (WHO), and United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) warned that the amount of humanitarian aid entering Gaza is "far short of what is needed to prevent a deadly combination of hunger, malnutrition, and disease." Indeed, more than 11,000 children have been killed so far by Israeli airstrikes and ground operations in 100 plus days of violence.⁴ According to Relief Web, Care International, a non-governmental organization (NGO), is gravely concerned about the mounting levels of hunger and the catastrophic and life-threatening conditions pregnant women, young mothers, and newborns are facing in Gaza.⁵ With 60 percent of Gaza’s hospitals out of commission and the remaining ones only partially functioning, women are increasingly forced to deliver babies in overcrowded and unclean shelters without medical support.⁶
While all the above is alarming, the killing does not end in Gaza alone. According to the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), Israeli soldiers are also getting killed and injured in the process.⁷ However, during the Israeli ground invasion, Indian-origin Israeli soldiers were also killed, raising concerns about the presence of Indians in Gaza.  Since then, shocking videos have emerged across social media, with Israeli soldiers confessing to targeting Palestinian children in Gaza.⁸  Videos on social media highlight another important aspect of the ongoing genocide, with photos showing Indian-origin soldiers posing in the bed of a Palestinian child they have killed.⁹ This prompts us to understand what is happening in Gaza and the role of Indian soldiers there.

This attitude raises questions about India's dual role: a) as an aid provider, and b) as a participant in the genocide alongside Israel in Gaza.

This is one of the photos depicting hundreds of Indian migrants in Israel participating in the extermination of the Palestinian people. Shockingly, the very first Israeli soldier killed during the current invasion was from India.
To balance out this pressure over its support for Israel, India has made some aid deliveries to Gaza, mostly through contributions to United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA).¹⁰ This attitude raises questions about India's dual role: a) as an aid provider, and b) as a participant in the genocide alongside Israel in Gaza. However, the mainstream media remains conspicuously silent about India's role in the ongoing conflict. In contrast, the Indian media openly signals the U.S. for its state-level support in fighting Israel's war against Gaza.¹¹  Indian military intelligence-gathering efforts support Israeli genocide operations. It is a by-product of the close intelligence-sharing relationship India enjoys with Israel.12 Due to India’s close partnership with Israel, New Delhi’s decision to abstain from the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) Resolution calling for an “immediate, durable and sustained humanitarian truce” in Gaza made it all the more conspicuous.13 A new report shows that the Israeli regime plans to replace Palestinian workers with 80,000 foreign workers permanently14  this year with a majority coming from India.15 
The former National Security Adviser (NSA) to Benjamin Netanyahu recently revealed an intelligence cooperation partnership between Israel and India. He stated that there has been intelligence cooperation between the two countries over the years. Additionally, he mentioned having the privilege of cooperating with India and Israel, heading delegations, and engaging in discussions with Indian counterparts. Ambassador Naor Gilon emphasized that Israel will not forget the support shown by the Indian leadership and its people during the ongoing war against Hamas.16  
It is an open secret that India's far-right extremist groups are eager to harm Muslims wherever they can find them. The video featuring India's Consul General in New York, Sandeep Chakravorty, caused controversy when he discussed the abrogation of Article 370 in relation to the 'Israel settlement model.'17 If we pay attention to the way Indian Jewish soldiers are celebrating the killing of Gaza children, blowing up schools, and mosques, it reveals their skills in genocide. However, the story does not end here. They might be sharing established genocide patterns with Indian military officials, along with information and intelligence. All of this will assist the Modi regime in developing its blueprint for genocide in India and Kashmir. Does Israel's brutal attitude further fuel the aspirations of India's far-right groups? Today, they are testing their genocide tactics in Gaza. Perhaps tomorrow, they may attempt similar strategies in Kashmir.
Israel's barbarity in Gaza has become a source of inspiration for the Modi regime18 and the world is aware of the fact that the Indian government is closely studying the tactics and strategies deployed by the Israeli military in Gaza along with the propaganda narratives used by the Israeli government. This has led many experts to conclude that Muslims in Kashmir are now at great risk of ethnic cleansing, justified under the pretext of Indian 'self-defense,' mirroring the tactics misused by Israelis in the current war. The indiscriminate killing under the banner of 'self-defense' overlooks the harsh reality that such an attitude is causing severe polarization in the global community. Citizens no longer trust their leaders when it comes to human rights.
Since international organizations and the world community at large have failed to stop the genocide in Gaza, it potentially gives hope to India that if the same set of players support India, they can openly conduct genocide or ethnic cleansing in Kashmir or target Muslims within India. It is like a writing on the wall for Kashmiris; they can already sense genocide when Indian soldiers tortured three civilians to death in the Muslim-majority territory in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), but nothing happened, and no one stood for them—neither the media highlighted it nor the international community. The Modi regime reckons that if Israel can get away with murder in territory it illegally occupies, why can't India do the same?
There are two ways to look at the Israel-Gaza conflict:
▪ One, it mobilizes people across the world who still believe in humanity and the rule of law to stand for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza and call for an immediate ceasefire.
▪ Second, it has further inspired far-right extremist groups, like the followers of Hindutva in India, to become harsher in their attitudes towards Muslims worldwide.
The Indian priest Yati Narsinghanand appealed to Israel to let his followers in India join the fight because whatever cancer they are fighting with India has been suffering from it for decades.’19  It becomes evident that India uses the Israel-Hamas war to their advantage20 by claiming India and Israel share a common enemy and a common cultural threat–Islam and the Muslims. This stance or position is openly evident in the Indian media, where anchors and hosts assert that Israel is a victim of what India is suffering from. They also claim that Israel is fighting this war on behalf of all.21 As millions of Hindus are becoming radicalized by pro-Israel propaganda at home, hundreds of Indian Jews are migrating to Israel to join the Zionist Army, participating in the hunting and killing of Palestinians.22
Experts have observed that right-leaning Indian accounts are significantly boosting the Israeli narrative to South Asian audiences, a demographic not easily reached by Western media. This phenomenon could have real-life implications for India’s Muslim community, with violent Islamophobic sentiments23  already widespread. The Christian Solidarity Worldwide reports highlight uncertain times for Muslims in Haryana, India, after recent communal attacks24 where Muslims are asked to vacate their homes, shops, and shanties set ablaze. This indicates India is at the edge of genocide against Muslims. Dr. Gregory Stanton, who describes genocide as a process rather than an event, has also identified early warning signs of genocide in India, where the country currently exhibits 9 out of 10 warning signs.25
It's time to understand the Indian strategic plan towards Muslims in India and Kashmir. The world cannot afford any further ethnic cleansing, genocide, or war crimes/atrocities. We want peace within and outside. It's now or never!

The writer is serving as Assistant Professor at the Department of government and Public Policy, School of Social Sciences and Humanities, NUST.
E-mail: [email protected]

1.      Kahanna, Menahem. “A Defiant Netanyahu Says No One Can Halt Israel’s War to Crush Hamas, Including the World Court.” CNBC, January 14, 2024. https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/14/a-defiant-netanyahu-says-no-one-can-halt-israels-war-to-crush-hamas-including-the-world-court-.html. 
2.      Gaza Health Ministry 
3.      VOA. “Israeli Forces Strike Across Gaza Strip as Gaza Health Ministry Says Death Toll Tops 25,000.” January 21, 2024. https://www.voanews.com/a/israeli-forces-strike-across-gaza-strip-as-gaza-health-ministry-says-death-toll-tops-24-100/7440229.html#. 
4.      Save the Children International. “Gaza: 10,000 Children Killed in Nearly 100 Days of War.” Save the Children International, January 11, 2024. https://www.savethechildren.net/news/gaza-10000-children-killed-nearly-100-days-war#:~:text=RAMALLAH%2C%2011%20January%202023%20–%. 
5.      “100 Days of Darkness in Gaza: Urgent Focus on Maternal and Reproductive Health Needed-Occupied Palestinian Territory.” ReliefWeb, January 13, 2024. https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/100-days-darkness-gaza-urgent-focus-maternal-and-reproductive-health-needed. 
6.      “100 Days of Darkness in Gaza: Urgent Focus on Maternal and Reproductive Health Needed - Occupied Palestinian Territory.” ReliefWeb, January 13, 2024. https://reliefweb.int/report/occupied-palestinian-territory/100-days-darkness-gaza-urgent-focus-maternal-and-reproductive-health-needed. 
7.      Fabian, Emanuel. “Authorities Name 523 Soldiers, 60 Police Officers Killed in Gaza War...” The Times of Israel, October 8, 2023. https://www.timesofisrael.com/authorities-name-44-soldiers-30-police-officers-killed-in-hamas-attack/. 
8.      The CJ Werleman Show. YouTube, January 4, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVCnTgpnlhY.
9.      The CJ Werleman Show. YouTube, January 4, 2024. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UVCnTgpnlhY.
10.    Fenton-Harvey, Jonathan. “Why India Has Embraced Israel amid the Gaza War.” The New Arab, December 5, 2023. https://www.newarab.com/analysis/why-india-has-embraced-israel-amid-gaza-war. 
11.    Ganguly, Sumit, and Nicolas Blarel. “Modi’s Comments on Israel-Gaza War Signal Shift.” Foreign Policy, October 12, 2023. https://foreignpolicy.com/2023/10/12/israel-hamas-gaza-war-modi-response-shift/. 
12.    Sen, Somdeep. “India’s Deepening Love Affair with Israel.” Al Jazeera, September 9, 2021. https://www.aljazeera.com/opinions/2021/9/9/indias-deepening-love-affair-with-israel. 
13.    Storey, Henry, Aarti Betigeri, David Brewster, and Teesta Prakash. “India’s Gaza Dilemma.” Lowy Institute, June 24, 2020. https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/india-s-gaza-dilemma. 
14.    Staff, Toi. Government to mull plan to replace Palestinian labourers with 80,000..., January 1, 2024. https://www.timesofisrael.com/government-to-mull-plan-to-replace-palestinian-laborers-with-80000-foreign-workers/. 
15.    Report, TBS. “To Replace Palestinians, Israel Plans to Hire 1 Lakh Indian Construction Workers.” The Business Standard, November 7, 2023. https://www.tbsnews.net/world/replace-palestinians-israel-plans-hire-1-lakh-indian-construction-workers-734778. 
16.    “Can Have Another Army with Indian Volunteers: Israeli Envoy.” India Today, October 15, 2023. https://www.indiatoday.in/world/story/israel-hams-war-ambassador-extends-gratitude-to-narendra-modi-indian-people-says-can-have-iaraeli-army-2448664-2023-10-13. 
 17.   “‘If Israeli People Can Do It...We Can Also’: Indian Diplomat Stirs Row over J&K Remarks.” The Indian Express, November 27, 2019. https://indianexpress.com/article/india/indian-diplomat-kashmiri-pandists-us-sandeep-chakravorty-jammu-kashmir-palestine-6139995/. 
18.    Gopalan, Aparna. “Israel’s Brutality Is Stoking the Imagination of India’s Far Right.” The American Prospect, November 28, 2023. https://prospect.org/world/2023-11-28-israels-brutality-indias-far-right/. 
19.    Abraham, Bobins. “Yati Narsinghanand, Supporters Seek to Settle in Israel, Join the War in Palestine.” India Times, October 14, 2023. https://www.indiatimes.com/news/india/yati-narsinghanand-supporters-seek-to-settle-in-israel-join-the-war-in-palestine-617671.html. 
20.    Dieterich, Carole. “India’s Hindu Nationalists Are Using the Israel-Hamas War to Their Advantage.” Le Monde.fr, November 3, 2023. https://www.lemonde.fr/en/international/article/2023/11/03/india-s-hindu-nationalists-are-using-the-israel-hamas-war-to-their-advantage_6225080_4.html. 
21.    Ellis-Peterson, Hannah. “India takes strong pro-Israel stance under Modi in a departure from the past.” The Guardian, October 31, 2023. https://www.theguardian.com/world/2023/oct/31/india-pro-israel-narendra-modi-bjp-government.
22.    Naz, Farah. “What are Indian Soldiers Doing in Gaza.” Pakistan Observer, January 8, 2023. https://pakobserver.net/what-are-indian-soldiers-doing-in-gaza/.
23.    Hasan, Waquar. “When myths are given precedence over historical facts: Hindu nationalists campaign to convert Muslim monuments and mosques into temples in India.” The New Arab, June 15, 2020. https://www.newarab.com/features/hindu-campaign-convert-indias-mosques-temples.
24.    CSW. August 11, 2023. “Uncertain times for Muslims in Haryana after recent communal attacks.” https://www.csw.org.uk/2023/08/11/press/6054/article.htm. 
25.    Genocide Watch. “Dr. Stanton Notes Early Warning Signs of Genocide in India.” https://www.genocidewatch.com/single-post/dr-stanton-notes-early-warning-signs-of-genocide-in-india.