The Israeli Foreign Ministry on Sunday, 4 October 2026 declared that the terror attack on a Flydubai flight bound for Tel Aviv had, in the end, revealed something the world needed to see — Israelis, Emiratis, and Indians standing together in extraordinary courage against terror. The statement came in the wake of a mid-air attack on the Dubai-Tel Aviv flight that was foiled by the aircraft's Indian pilot, Captain Smit Machchhar.

Israel Foreign Ministry's Statement

In a post on social media platform X, the Israeli Foreign Ministry framed the attack as far more than an assault on Israeli passengers. 'The terror attack on the Flydubai flight to Tel Aviv was more than an attack on Israelis. It was an attack on Israel–UAE relations and everything the Abraham Accords represent. Instead, the world saw Israelis, Emiratis and Indians showing extraordinary courage and standing together against terror. Terror will not derail the progress transforming our region,' the Ministry said.

Netanyahu's Extraordinary Invitation to Captain Machchhar and PM Modi

In a remarkable gesture, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu personally telephoned Captain Smit Machchhar and invited both the pilot and Prime Minister Narendra Modi to light a celebratory flame at Israel's next Independence Day ceremony — an honour that Netanyahu noted is typically reserved exclusively for Israeli citizens.

'Captain, I want to invite you and my dear friend, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, to light a celebratory flame on our next Independence Day. You are a true hero of the brave peoples of India and Israel, and you're a hero of the entire world,' Netanyahu told the pilot directly.

Netanyahu described the Indian pilot as a 'hero of India, Israel and the entire world.' He added: 'It's our highest honour that we give on our Independence Day. It's usually reserved for Israeli citizens. But I think here in this case, all the citizens of Israel will embrace you. They do now and they will then too.'

Netanyahu: 'What He Did Bordered on the Miraculous'

Having been briefed by Captain Machchhar on precisely how the cockpit attack unfolded, Netanyahu said he was left amazed by the pilot's composure and judgement under extreme duress. 'I'm amazed at your courage, at your coolness of judgment under impossible conditions,' the Israeli Prime Minister said, adding that what the Captain did 'bordered on the miraculous.'

Netanyahu further said the pilot had saved something far larger than the lives aboard the aircraft. 'You saved so many souls. I think you saved something bigger. You saved the spirit of the world to realise that a brave pilot and brave passengers can overcome this evil, however threatening, however violent. It's something that is being justly hailed around the world,' he said.

Broader Significance: Abraham Accords and India-Israel Ties

The incident has taken on a geopolitical dimension beyond the immediate security event. The Israeli Foreign Ministry's framing explicitly invokes the Abraham Accords — the 2020 US-brokered normalisation agreements between Israel and several Arab states, including the UAE — suggesting that the attack was designed to fracture those ties. The joint resilience displayed by nationals of all three countries is being positioned by Jerusalem as a reaffirmation of that diplomatic architecture. The invitation extended to Prime Minister Modi — a head of government of a non-signatory state — is also being read as a signal of deepening India-Israel strategic proximity. All eyes will now be on whether New Delhi responds formally to the Independence Day invitation.