PM Modi congratulates Trump, Netanyahu on 'success of Gaza peace plan'; says good progress achieved in trade negotiations with US

Earlier in the morning, he had taken to the social media platform to welcome the agreement between Israel and Hamas for the first phase of a US-brokered ceasefire framework for the release of all hostages held in Gaza, withdrawal of the Israeli Defence Force to an agreed point and the release of some of the Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi called United States President Donald Trump on Thursday and congratulated him on the success of his peace plan to end the conflict in Gaza.

Modi also congratulated Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel over the phone.

“Spoke to my friend, President Trump, and congratulated him on the success of the historic Gaza peace plan,” Modi posted on X after his phone call with Trump. “Also reviewed the good progress achieved in trade negotiations. Agreed to stay in close touch over the coming weeks.”

He had earlier in the morning taken to the social media platform to welcome the agreement between Israel and Hamas for the first phase of a US-brokered ceasefire framework for the release of all hostages held in Gaza, withdrawal of the Israeli Defence Force to an agreed point and the release of some of the Palestinians imprisoned by Israel.

“We welcome the agreement on the first phase of President Trump's peace plan. This is also a reflection of the strong leadership of PM Netanyahu. We hope the release of hostages and enhanced humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza will bring respite to them and pave the way for lasting peace,” Modi had written on X in the morning, tagging both the American and Israeli leaders.

Apart from Trump’s 50% tariff on India’s exports to the US and his bonhomie with the civil and military leadership of Pakistan, New Delhi’s rebuttals to his repeated claims about brokering its May 10 ceasefire with Islamabad had also added to the stress in its ties with Washington, D.C.

Modi, however, had quickly extended his support to the US president’s peace plan in Gaza immediately after he had announced it on September 30. The prime minister had welcomed the US president’s 20-point plan for peace in Gaza, stating that the blueprint offered “a viable pathway to a long-term and sustainable peace, security and development for the Palestinian and Israeli people, as also for the larger West Asian region.”

“We welcome the agreement on the release of hostages and enhanced humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza. Reaffirmed that terrorism in any form or manifestation is unacceptable anywhere in the world,” Modi wrote on the social media platform after speaking to Netanyahu.

Modi and Trump had a phone call on June 17, when the prime minister subtly but firmly refuted the US president’s claims about mediating between India and Pakistan and brokering the May 10 truce, which ended the four-day-long cross-border military flare-up between the two nations. Trump had also called Modi on September 17 to wish the prime minister on his birthday, after the exchange of positive vibes between New Delhi and Washington, D.C., and the resumption of the stalled negotiations for the trade deal, fuelled speculation about an imminent thaw.