Modi, 7 October, and the Gaza War

The 7 October 2023 attacks on Israel and the ensuing war in the Gaza Strip created a broader crisis in the Middle East that threatened to destabilise the entire region. Consequently, regional and global powers were forced to react, respond and readjust their positions amidst the volatile circumstances. The Indian reaction was clear and coherent bearing the hallmark of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. New Delhi condemned the terrorist action of Hamas and rallied behind Israel's right to defence, and yet, it reaffirmed support to the two-state solution. This book explores India's nuanced position examining both the government's stand as well as the response in the media, civil society and intelligentsia. The idea of the book originated from a panel in the international conference on Israel and Israel Studies: The European and International Perspectives organised by the Association of Israel Studies and the European Association of Israel Studies in Prague in July 2024. Subsequently, a special issue of the Contemporary Review of the Middle East was published in December 2024. As the conflict showed no signs of end, the papers presented in Prague and published in CRME are considerably revised, updated, and expanded for this volume with a fresh introduction and a revised the India chapter.