Israel Foreign Minister Eli Cohen Cuts Short India Visit Amid Escalation Of Violence In Gaza Strip

In an unprecedented move, the Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen will cut short his visit to India and return back to Israel due to a 'security situation' in his country.

He arrived in India earlier today for his first official three-day visit, during which he was scheduled to meet with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar as well as Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

According to a tweet by the Foreign Minister Cohen he will cut short his visit after meeting the Prime Minister Narendra Modi due to a security situation in Israel.

He tweeted, "I landed a short time ago in New Delhi, the capital of India, and immediately upon landing I received a security update. In light of the events in Israel, I decided to cut short the diplomatic visit to India and return to Israel after my meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that will take place today".

Sources indicate that Minister Cohen had to leave India abruptly because of Israeli airstrikes in the Gaza Strip that resulted in the deaths of three senior leaders of the militant group 'Islamic Jihad'.

Islamic Jihad is the biggest terror group in Gaza Strip and has been responsible for various rocket attacks in Israel. Over the past two days, Islaminc Jihad terrorist group has fired several barrages of rockets in response to the death of a Palestinian on a hunger strike in a Israeli prison.

Following the rocket attacks, the Israeli Air Force conducted a series of airstrikes early Tuesday (9 May) morning, resulting in the deaths of three Islamic Jihad commanders and ten civilians.