After Israel and Hamas agreed to a long-awaited ceasefire and hostage deal, with the US playing a central role in the process, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said Thursday that he spoke to his “friend” President Donald Trump and congratulated him on the “success of the historic Gaza peace plan”. Pointing to their second conversation in less than a month, Modi also said in a post on X that they reviewed the “good progress” achieved in bilateral trade negotiations. Indicating a new urgency to engage at the highest level, the Prime Minister took to X twice on Thursday in posts referring to Gaza and Trump - totalling four such posts since September 30. First, he welcomed the Gaza plan, which marked the first phase of President Trump's plan to end the war. Then, he posted to convey that he had called Trump. Later Thursday, Modi took to X again to post that he had spoken to his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu, too, to “congratulate him on the progress made under” the Gaza plan. The fleet-footedness shown by the Indian establishment indicates that Delhi now realises and understands the US President’s impulses in resolving one of the most intractable conflicts in the world. The war in Gaza by Israel has already claimed more than 67,000 lives over the past two years after Hamas attacked Israel, killed around 1,200 people and took about 250 hostages. Delhi has belatedly realised how much Trump wants to be perceived as a “peacemaker” and “peace President”. Tagging @POTUS and @realDonaldTrump, Modi posted: “Spoke to my friend, President Trump and congratulated him on the success of the historic Gaza peace plan. Also reviewed the good progress achieved in trade negotiations. Agreed to stay in close touch over the coming weeks.” Earlier, he posted: “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.” He tagged @potus @realDonaldTrump and @netanyahu in the post. Posting about the call with Netanyahu, Modi wrote: “Called my friend, Prime Minister Netanyahu, to congratulate him on the progress made under President Trump’s Gaza peace plan. 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.” In response, the office of the Israeli Prime Minister posted on X: “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu just spoke with the Prime Minister of India. Modi conveyed his congratulations to Prime Minister Netanyahu on the agreement achieved for the release of all of the hostages. The Indian PM remarked that PM Netanyahu has always been a close friend, and that the friendship between them will remain steadfast. The Prime Minister thanked the Indian PM for his support for the State of Israel, and the two agreed to continue working in close cooperation.” Called my friend, Prime Minister Netanyahu, to congratulate him on the progress made under President Trump’s Gaza peace plan. 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… — Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) October 9, 2025 The Gaza agreement was the result of indirect talks held in Egypt in the initial stage of Trump's 20-point framework to bring peace to the Palestinian enclave. The talks were held just a day after the second anniversary of Hamas's cross-border attack that triggered Israel's devastating assault on Gaza. The agreement was announced by Trump late on Wednesday: “I am very proud to announce that Israel and Hamas have both signed off on the first Phase of our Peace Plan. This means that all of the Hostages will be released very soon, and Israel will withdraw their Troops to an agreed upon line as the first steps toward a Strong, Durable, and Everlasting Peace.” Modi’s call with Trump was the second conversation between the two leaders since September 16, when the Prime Minister received a call from the US President on the eve of his 75th birthday. The warming of ties began on September 6, when they exchanged messages on social media platforms, and again on September 10. The two sides have been exploring the possibility of a meeting between the two leaders on the sidelines of the ASEAN and East Asia leaders’ summit in Kuala Lumpur in Malaysia from October 26-28. Both sides haven’t yet announced their travel plans. Many believe that an “engagement at the highest level” between Modi and Trump could break the current bilateral deadlock and inject the momentum needed to push the long-drawn India-US trade talks over the finish line. This is one of the “fresh indications” New Delhi has received from Washington DC, a senior Government official had told The Indian Express. India and the US have been conducting trade negotiations since March this year but that was derailed by the 50 per cent tariffs — Trump slapped a 25 per cent penalty for buying Russian oil in addition to the initial 25 pc tariffs. The talks have picked up over the past few weeks with Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal holding meetings and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar meeting US Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The US Senate, meanwhile, has confirmed Sergio Gor’s appointment as the next US Ambassador to India, and Special Envoy for South and Central Asian Affairs - despite the ongoing US government shutdown. Gor, 38, was among 107 nominees confirmed by the Senate in a single en bloc vote Wednesday with 51 senators voting in favour and 47 against. This quick confirmation indicates that Washington is keen to strengthen diplomatic and political interactions with India amid tensions over the tariffs and increased H-1B visa fees. Earlier, on October 4, within hours of Trump’s welcoming the Hamas statement agreeing to his proposal broadly and asking Israel to stop bombing Gaza, Modi had welcomed Trump’s “leadership” on “decisive progress” and called it a “significant step forward”. On September 30, after Trump’s plan to end the war in Gaza was announced, Modi had welcomed it and expressed hope that all “concerned will come together behind President Trump’s initiative and support this effort to end conflict and secure peace”. The White House had called for an immediate ceasefire, an exchange of hostages held by Hamas for Palestinian prisoners held by Israel, a staged Israeli withdrawal from Gaza, Hamas disarmament and a transitional government led by an international body. Delhi, which was extremely supportive of Israel after the October 7 attacks by Hamas, had been nuancing its position over the last year-and-a-half as the death toll of Palestinians have been rising due to Israel’s military offensive. However, it has sought to keep a balance - calling for the war to end but not being overtly critical of Israel’s actions under Netanyahu.
