Netanyahu congratulates PM Modi, hopes Indo-Israel ties reach 'new heights'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu congratulated his counterpart Narendra Modi on his party's victory in India's general election, expressing hopes that Indo-Israel ties surge to "new heights".

According to the results for all Lok Sabha constituencies, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won 240 of the 543 seats and the Congress 99.

The BJP-led National Democratic Alliance has comfortably crossed the majority mark of 272 in the 543-member Lok Sabha.

"I extend my warmest congratulations to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on being reelected for a third consecutive term. May the friendship between India and Israel continue to surge towards new heights. Badhaai Ho !", Netanyahu tweeted on social media platform X.

Modi was the first Indian Prime Minister to visit Israel since the two countries established diplomatic ties in 1992.

He visited Israel in July 2017 in a much-publicised standalone visit, seen by many as de-hyphenating India's ties in the region till then seen in the context of the Israel-Palestinian conflict and New Delhi's efforts towards a balancing act.

He later also visited the West Bank, skipping Israel, and focusing on India's ties with Palestine.

Netanyahu's friendship with Modi grabbed a lot of headlines in Israel with the "chemistry" between the two being talked about with a viral picture of the two taking a stroll barefoot at an Israeli beach.