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New Delhi, October 9 (IANS) Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Thursday spoke to his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu and congratulated him on the progress made under US President Donald Trump’s Gaza peace plan.
Addressing
His talks with Netanyahu followed talks with the US President on Thursday on the Gaza peace deal.
“My friend, spoke to President Trump and congratulated him on the success of the historic Gaza peace plan. Also reviewed the good progress achieved in trade talks. Agreed to stay in close touch in the coming weeks,” PM Modi posted on Twitter.
The phone call came a day after Israel and Hamas agreed to the first phase of a peace deal proposed by Trump.
This is the second phone call between the two leaders in a span of a month.
Earlier, in a major breakthrough two years after the deadly conflict began, Israel and Hamas agreed on the first phase of a peace deal proposed by US President Donald Trump, starting with the release of hostages held by the Palestinian group and a phased withdrawal of Israeli troops.
The breakthrough in talks under US auspices came exactly two years and one day after the brutal attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7, which triggered the conflict.
Hamas killed about 1,250 Israelis and took about 250 hostage during the attack launched from Gaza.
Gaza officials have said 67,000 people, most of them civilians, were killed in the Israeli counteroffensive, which destroyed much of the territory and, according to the United Nations, created famine-like conditions when Israel restricted relief supplies.
After months of talks that were interrupted by Israel’s bombing of a building in Qatar where Hamas negotiators were staying, talks gained momentum after President Trump spoke to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu about the attack, rallying some of the Arab and Muslim-majority country’s leaders to pressure Hamas.
President Trump presented a 20-point peace plan for Gaza, starting with the release of hostages by Hamas and Palestinian prisoners by Israel.
This was because Israel had withdrawn troops from Gaza and Hamas had surrendered its weapons and President Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner personally joined the talks with Trump’s special representative Steve Witkoff.
The Gaza peace agreement – if it is passed in its entirety – could revive and expand the Abraham Accords that he established in his first term.
The agreement led to the establishment or restoration of diplomatic relations between Israel and the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Sudan and Morocco.
Netanyahu faced global isolation as most countries condemned the attack on Gaza and supported the creation of a Palestinian state.
At home, pressure to bring the hostages home increased.
But now he is also facing opposition on this agreement from the rightists in his ruling coalition, who want complete occupation of Gaza and want to remove the Palestinians from there.
As the massacre in Gaza continued, the local population, caught between Hamas and Israel, began to grow restless, while Arab nations began to urge Hamas to agree to a deal.
–IANS
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