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Benjamin Netanyahu invited Narendra Modi to light an Independence Day torch alongside Indian pilot Smit Machchhar. The invitation honours the pilot's role in thwarting an alleged hijacking attempt.
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Jerusalem,Oct 22, 2026 19:40 IST
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he had spoken to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and invited him to light a torch alongside Indian pilot Smit Machchhar on Israel's Independence Day, the Press Trust of India reported on Thursday.
In a post on X, Netanyahu said Modi appreciated the strong and long-standing ties between India and Israel. The Israeli leader made the announcement while facing a close race for re-election.
“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,” Netanyahu said.
“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 Hindi and Hebrew.
Modi travelled to Israel in February, his second visit to the country in nine years. India and Israel elevated their relationship to a strategic partnership during his first visit to Tel Aviv in July 2017.
Earlier this month, Israeli President Isaac Herzog invited Machchhar to Israel to confer on him the Presidential Award for Civilian Heroism, PTI reported. The pilot had fought off an attack by his co-pilot inside the cockpit of a Tel Aviv-bound flight.
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 members to overpower the co-pilot and avert a possible catastrophe. The aircraft made an emergency landing in Saudi Arabia, and the passengers reached Israel safely later that day.
Machchhar, who has been hailed as a “hero” by Modi and Netanyahu, is undergoing treatment at a hospital in the United Arab Emirates. Netanyahu has now invited Modi to join the pilot in lighting a torch during Israel's Independence Day ceremony.
With PTI Inputs
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