Netanyahu invites PM Modi to light torch with Indian pilot Smit Machchhar at Israel’s Independence Day celebrations

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he invited Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to light a torch with pilot Smit Machchhar on Israel’s Independence Day. Machchhar was injured while fighting off his co-pilot during an alleged hijacking attempt and is receiving treatment in the UAE.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Thursday said he spoke with his Indian counterpart Narendra Modi and invited him to light a torch alongside brave Indian pilot Smit Machchhar on Israel's Independence Day.

In a post on X, the Israeli Prime Minister also said that PM Modi appreciated the "strong, long-standing ties" between the two countries.

"I spoke with my friend, the Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, and invited him to light a torch alongside a brave Indian pilot on Israel's Independence Day," said Netanyahu, who is in the midst of a close race for re-election.

"Modi thanked me for the invitation and said that, on the ground and in the air, India and Israel are fighting together against terrorism," he wrote in both Hindi and Hebrew.

Modi travelled to Israel in February on his second visit to the country in nine years. The India-Israel relationship was elevated to the level of strategic partnership during his first visit to Tel Aviv in July 2017.

Earlier this month, Israeli President Isaac Herzog invited Indian pilot Machchhar, who fought off an attack from his co-pilot inside the cockpit of a Tel Aviv-bound flight, to Israel to honour him with the Presidential Award for Civilian Heroism.

Machchhar was injured while trying to stop his co-pilot from allegedly attempting to hijack flydubai flight FZ1073 from Dubai to Tel Aviv on September 30. The flight was carrying 174 passengers.

Despite being seriously injured, Machchhar managed to open the cockpit door, allowing passengers and crew to overpower the co-pilot and avert a possible catastrophe. The plane made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia. The passengers reached Israel safely later that day.

Machchhar, who has been hailed as a "hero" by Modi and Netanyahu for his courage, is undergoing treatment at a hospital in the United Arab Emirates.