Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen To Cut Short His Three-Day India Trip Amid Gaza Tensions

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, who arrived in India on Tuesday for a three-day visit, has decided to cut short his trip and will return to Israel today after meeting with Prime Minister Modi.

Minister of Foreign Affairs of Israel Eli Cohen being received upon his arrival in New Delhi on May 9

New Delhi: Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen, who arrived in India on Tuesday for a three-day visit, has decided to cut short his trip and will return to Israel today after meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi after receiving a "security update" regarding his country.

Cohen announced on his Twitter account that he will leave after meeting PM Modi on Tuesday.

"I landed a short time ago in New Delhi, the capital of India, and immediately upon landing I received a security update. In light of the events in my home country, I decided to cut short my diplomatic visit to India and return to Israel after my meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, which is scheduled to take place today," Cohen tweeted in Hebrew.

נחתתי לפני זמן קצר בניו דלהי בירת הודו, ומיד עם נחיתתי קיבלתי עדכון ביטחוני.
לאור האירועים בארץ, החלטתי לקצר את הביקור המדיני בהודו ולחזור לישראל לאחר פגישתי עם ראש ממשלת הודו נרנדרה מודי שתתקיים היום.

— אלי כהן | Eli Cohen (@elicoh1) May 9, 2023

The Israeli minister was scheduled to attend an India-Israel Business Forum being organised by industry chamber CII and also participate in a special conversation organised by the Israel Export and International Cooperation Institute on Tuesday in New Delhi. 

Later in the evening, he was scheduled to depart for Agra to attend a programme scheduled to be held on May 10, according to a media advisory released by the Ministry of External Affairs.

Meanwhile, Israeli forces on early Tuesday killed three Islamic Jihad commanders in Gaza airstrikes, the military confirmed.

The Israeli military in a social media post highlighted the elimination of three senior members of the Islamic Jihad 'terrorist organisation'.

According to Israel Defence Forces (IDF), the deceased are identified as- Khalil Bahtini, the Islamic Jihad commander for the northern Gaza Strip; Tareq Izzeldeen, the group’s intermediary between its Gaza and West Bank members; and Jehad Ghanam, the secretary of the Islamic Jihad’s military council.

According to Palestinian officials and medics, at least six Palestinians were killed in the airstrikes, including three civilians, while several others sustained injuries, reported Reuters.

The air strikes marked the latest incident in more than a year of surging violence, with repeated Israeli military raids and escalating settler violence in the occupied West Bank amid a spate of Palestinian street attacks targeting Israelis.

According to Reuters, more than 90 Palestinians and at least 19 Israelis and foreigners have been killed since January.