Israeli Official Statements Backing India After Phalgam Attack

On April 22, 2025, a terrorist attack in Pahalgam (often spelled “Phalgam”) in Indian-administered Kashmir killed 26 civilians (mostly tourists). In its aftermath, Israeli leaders publicly expressed solidarity with India. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu sent condolences to Indian PM Narendra Modi, calling the attack “barbaric” and declaring “Israel stands with India in its fight against terrorism.”business-standard.com. A couple weeks later, after India launched retaliatory strikes (codenamed “Operation Sindoor”) on terror camps in Pakistan, Israel’s Ambassador to India, Reuven Azar, voiced strong support. Posting on X (Twitter) on May 7, 2025, he stated: “Israel supports India’s right for self defense. Terrorists should know there’s no place to hide from their heinous crimes against the innocent.”business-standard.com This official message – echoed by Israel’s embassy – signaled Israel’s approval of India’s counter-terror operation. In short, Israel’s government did offer explicit diplomatic support to India following the Phalgam/Pahalgam attack, affirming India’s right to respond to terrorismreuters.com.

Notably, this is consistent with past Israel-India diplomacy. Netanyahu’s April 22 condolence was immediate, and the Israeli envoy’s endorsement of India’s strikes underscored the close ties. However, beyond these statements and symbolic support, did Israel provide any direct military assistance during the ensuing conflict? The next sections examine whether Israel supplied weapons, drones, or intelligence to India in this episode.

Israeli Drones, Weapons, or Intelligence Support in the Conflict?

There is no public evidence of Israel deploying forces or new weapons on India’s behalf during the post-Phalgam conflict. That said, India did use certain Israeli-made military hardware from its own arsenal, and Pakistani officials highlighted this fact. In the escalation on May 7–8, 2025, the Indian military employed Israeli-origin loitering drones (IAI Harop “suicide” drones) to strike targets in Pakistanbusiness-standard.com. These Harop drones – which India had procured from Israel in prior years – were used to destroy Pakistani air-defense radars in cities like Lahore and Rawalpindibusiness-standard.combusiness-standard.com. The Harop, designed by Israel Aerospace Industries, is essentially an unmanned kamikaze drone that hovers and then dives into targets. Indian sources confirmed at least one successful hit on a Pakistani long-range SAM site with these Israeli-made munitionsbusiness-standard.com.

Pakistani authorities, in turn, drew attention to the drones’ origin. The Pakistani Army’s media wing (ISPR) announced it had “shot down 25 Israeli-made Harop drones” launched by India during the hostilitiesdawn.comdawn.com. In a press briefing, Pakistan’s military even displayed debris from the downed drones, including a fragment clearly labeled with an Israeli manufacturer’s address (from Israel’s Barkan industrial zone) – tangible evidence that the UAVs were of Israeli makedawn.com. Image: Pakistani officials displayed wreckage of an Indian drone with Israeli markings, underscoring the use of Israeli-made Harop “suicide drones” by India. The use of these drones, which India obtained via defense deals with Israel, illustrates indirect Israeli support in the form of armaments previously supplied to India.

Beyond drones, India’s arsenal in this confrontation featured other Israeli weaponry as well. For example, the Indian Air Force has Israeli SPICE-2000 precision-guided bombs, which were notably used in India’s 2019 Balakot airstrike in Pakistanindiatoday.in. (Those Spice-2000 guided bombs – manufactured by Israel’s Rafael – were again procured by India for standoff strikesindiatoday.in.) India’s inventory also includes Israeli air-to-ground missiles, radar systems, and small arms acquired over years. It’s important to note, however, that these were not freshly provided in 2025 – they were part of India’s existing military stockpiles. We did not find credible reports that Israel sent additional weapons or ammunition to India during the Phalgam crisis timeframe.

What about intelligence sharing or real-time assistance? Neither Indian nor Israeli officials publicly indicated any direct intelligence support in this specific episode. It’s known that India and Israel cooperate closely on counter-terrorism intelligence in general, but for this incident there were no announced Israeli inputs into India’s targeting or operations. The Israeli ambassador’s statement was strongly supportive, yet Israel remained formally a spectator in the conflict, aside from moral support and previously transferred hardware. In summary, Israel’s role in the conflict was indirect – India utilized Israeli-made drones and munitions, but there’s no evidence of Israeli personnel, real-time intelligence, or new weapon deliveries active in the 2025 India-Pakistan clashes.

Background: India–Israel Defense Relationship and Major Arms Deals

Israel and India have built a robust defense partnership over the past few decades, which sets the context for the above developments. India is today one of the largest customers of Israeli military technology, and Israel is among India’s top two or three arms suppliers. In fact, as of 2022 Israel was India’s second-largest source of arms (after Russia), accounting for about 42% of all Israeli arms exportsen.wikipedia.org. This deep relationship has grown especially since the 2000s and 2010s, encompassing high-end weapons sales, co-development of systems, and intelligence cooperation. Both nations see common strategic ground in fighting extremism and have steadily expanded defense ties since establishing full diplomatic relations in 1992.

Key areas of India-Israel defense cooperation include aerospace, missiles, and unmanned systems. A prime example is the Barak-8 air and missile defense system (also called LRSAM/MRSAM), which was co-developed by Israel’s IAI and India’s DRDO. The Barak-8 project alone is valued over $3 billion and has equipped Indian Navy warships and Air Force squadrons with advanced SAM capabilitiescalcalistech.com. Israel has also supplied India with phased-array radars (Elta EL/M-2084) for these systems and otherscalcalistech.com. Another flagship collaboration is in unmanned aerial vehicles – India operates a fleet of Israeli-made UAVs like the Heron and Searcher surveillance drones (from IAI) and has locally assembled Hermes 450/900 drones via a partnership between Israel’s Elbit Systems and India’s Adani groupcalcalistech.comcalcalistech.com. These drones bolster India’s reconnaissance along sensitive borders. In the loitering munition category, India purchased dozens of Harop/“P-4” drones (the same type used in May 2025) in earlier deals, underlining how Israeli technology is integrated into India’s force structure.

Other notable Israeli systems in India’s inventory include: the Phalcon airborne early-warning radar (mounted on IL-76 aircraft), SPYDER quick-reaction surface-to-air missile batteries, Spike anti-tank guided missiles, and the SPICE family of smart bombs. Many of these were procured via big-ticket contracts in the last 10–15 years. For instance, India finalized a $1 billion deal in 2011 for Rafael’s Spike ATGMs (a deal that was revisited and scaled down later)en.wikipedia.org, and in 2020, India placed orders worth $200 million for an array of Rafael’s munitions (including Spice-2000 bombs and Spike missiles)defensemirror.com. Overall, by one estimate India spent $9 billion on Israeli defense purchases between 1999 and 2010, and purchases have continued apace in the 2010sen.wikipedia.org. Even as India diversifies suppliers, Israel remains a key provider of high-tech equipment that is often battle-proven and suited to India’s needs.

To illustrate the growing defense trade, below is a brief timeline of recent India–Israel defense deals and cooperation:

Table: Major India–Israel defense deals and cooperation in recent years (2017–2025).

This close relationship explains why Israeli-made equipment appeared in India’s conflict with Pakistan – India has been investing in Israeli defense tech for decades. The two countries also share intelligence on terror groups and have conducted joint military exercises (India has participated in Israel’s Blue Flag air exercise, special forces drills, etc.en.wikipedia.org). In essence, Israel has consistently provided India with advanced military hardware and know-how, and in turn received diplomatic support (e.g. India’s stance during the Hamas-Israel war of 2023 was notably pro-Israel). This broader context is important when assessing claims about Israeli “support” in a specific India-Pakistan clash.

Pakistani Claims of Israeli Support – Fact or Speculation?

In Pakistan, the idea that Israel is actively backing India in a war often circulates in media and political rhetoric. During the 2025 conflict, Pakistani officials pointed to India’s use of Israeli weaponry as proof of Israel’s involvement. For example, the Pakistani military’s spokesperson lambasted India’s drone strikes as “naked aggression” and specifically noted the Israeli origin of the downed dronesdawn.comdawn.com. Television segments showed fragments of Israeli-made drones, implicitly suggesting Israel was bolstering India’s capabilities. Some Pakistani commentators went even further, framing the conflict as part of an Israel-India nexus against Pakistan. One op-ed in a major Pakistani newspaper alleged that “India is only doing Israel’s dirty work,” citing a (likely apocryphal) 1967 quote attributed to Israeli leader David Ben-Gurion about targeting Pakistan and using India as a base against itdawn.comdawn.com. This narrative posits that Israel sees Pakistan as a threat (due to Pakistan’s support for Palestinians and its nuclear arms) and therefore supports India strategically to undermine Pakistan.

It is true that Israel sides with India diplomatically over Pakistan, and that India’s military uses a lot of Israeli gear – as detailed above. However, the claims of direct Israeli support “in this war” are not backed by concrete evidence beyond those facts. No Israeli officials have admitted to providing real-time assistance, and the support Israel offered was rhetorical and moral (statements defending India’s right to act)business-standard.com. The presence of Israeli-made drones in the skies over Pakistan in 2025 was the result of past arms sales, not newly deployed Israeli units. In other words, India was fielding weapons purchased from Israel (just as it also fielded, say, Russian-made fighter jets) – which is a far cry from Israel itself fighting or orchestrating the conflict. Pakistani media suggestions that Israel “greenlit” or encouraged India’s offensive are largely speculative. They stem from a perception of an Israel-India alliance against Muslim countries, a theme in Pakistan’s domestic discourse, rather than from any documented Israeli operational role.

Independent fact-checkers and analysts have noted that such claims by Pakistani outlets blur the line between long-term defense cooperation and active wartime collusion. The evidence at hand shows Israel’s support was political (and pre-existing via arms transfers), not a direct intervention. Even Pakistan’s government, while condemning India, did not produce evidence of Israeli personnel involvement or new shipments during the crisis – their focus was on condemning India’s “terrorism” and vowing retaliationreuters.comreuters.com. Thus, statements like “Israel is supporting India in this war” should be viewed in context: Israel has unquestionably enabled India’s military build-up over the years (which in turn affects any India-Pakistan conflict), and Israeli leaders cheered India on from the sidelines, but there is no indication of Israel co-fighting or directly supplying arms in the 2025 India-Pakistan confrontation.

Conclusion:

Israel’s role after the Phalgam/Pahalgam attack was primarily that of a steadfast ally voicing approval of India’s counter-terror operation. High-level Israeli officials publicly backed India’s right to self-defensebusiness-standard.com. On the ground, India relied on some Israeli-manufactured weapons (drones, bombs) during its military strikes, owing to the extensive Indo-Israeli defense trade. However, we find no official confirmation of Israel providing new drones, weapons, or intelligence specifically for this conflict – beyond the equipment India already possessed. Claims in Pakistani media that Israel actively “supported” India in a direct way appear to be exaggerated and not substantiated by facts. They conflate Israel’s long-standing defense partnership with India (and political solidarity) with active participation. In summary, Israel’s support to India post-Phalgam was real in diplomatic terms and via legacy arms sales, but there is no evidence of Israel militarily intervening or orchestrating India’s campaign in the manner some Pakistan-based sources have suggested.

Sources: Official statements and reputable news reports have been used to verify these points. For instance, Reuters, India Today, and Business Standard documented the Israeli ambassador’s pro-India statement and Netanyahu’s messagebusiness-standard.combusiness-standard.com. Outlets like Business Standard and PBS/AP confirm India’s use of Israeli-made Harop drones in the strikesbusiness-standard.com, while Pakistani and international sources (Dawn, Reuters) note Pakistan’s claims of downing those dronesdawn.comdawn.com. The long-term defense ties are evidenced by data on arms deals and cooperation from sources such as Calcalist (an Israeli business news site)calcalistech.comcalcalistech.com, Indian news outlets, and academic references. All these indicate a strong India-Israel defense relationship that frames the conflict, but no direct Israeli combat role in the fighting after the Phalgam attack.