'Hamas Leaders & JEM Met In PoK': Israel Envoy On Pahalgam Massacre, Says Terrorists Took Inspiration From Oct 7 Attack

New Delhi: Israel’s Ambassador to India, Reuven Azar, has drawn sharp parallels between the recent terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam and the Hamas-led assault on Israel on October 7, 2023.

The diplomat described both incidents as targeting innocent civilians and flagged a worrying pattern of increasing collaboration among global terrorist networks.

'Terrorist Groups Inspiring Each Other’

In a statement given to NDTV, Ambassador Azar said, “The terrorists are collaborating at all levels and trying to be copycats of each other. I am sure the intelligence agencies are working together to defeat them.” He referenced the killings of tourists in Pahalgam by Pakistan-linked militants and likened the assault to the Hamas attack in Israel which reportedly claimed over 1,400 lives.

In a separate interaction with PTI, Azar said that the Pahalgam attackers seemed to have taken inspiration from Hamas. “There are similarities between the Pahalgam attack and what happened on October 7 in Israel. Innocent tourists were enjoying their vacation in Pahalgam, while in Israel, people were celebrating a music festival,” he said.

The ambassador also hinted at possible coordination between Hamas and Pakistani terror outfits, citing reported meetings between Hamas leaders and Jaish-e-Mohammed operatives in Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir.

India Responds with Strong Diplomatic Moves

Ambassador Azar praised India’s decisive diplomatic reaction to the attack. “I'm very encouraged by not only the strong condemnation but also the strict measures taken by the Indian government,” Azar said in a statement.

India responded to the terror attack by suspending visa services for Pakistani nationals, ordering their exit from the country (with diplomats as the only exception), and shutting down the Attari land-transit route. The country has also suspended the decades-old Indus Water Treaty with Pakistan, citing the cross-border nature of the attack.

Calling for greater international accountability, Azar urged global powers to expose state sponsors of terrorism. “Terrorists enjoy a series of deeds by countries that supply money, intelligence inputs and weapons, which is unacceptable,” he told IANS.

Published on: Friday, April 25, 2025, 09:32 AM IST