The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) on Saturday issued a new graphic showing Kashmir as Indian territory, rectifying their previous mistake.
The IDF on Friday posted a map that incorrectly depicted Jammu and Kashmir as part of Pakistan, sparking widespread outrage in India.
Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani, IDF International Spokesperson, acknowledged the error, stating that they “mistakenly used the wrong world map” while focusing on neutralising the nuclear threat. He expressed gratitude to Indian netizens on X for pointing out the mistake.
https://x.com/LTC_Shoshani/status/1933946128200077716
However, the territorial boundaries of India’s north east are yet to be corrected. The IDF map showed Northeast India as part of Nepal.
The original tweet, which caused the diplomatic furore, was posted late Friday evening. It contained a graphic showing concentric red circles emanating from Iran and shading large parts of West Asia, northern Africa, Europe and Asia, including India, China, Saudi Arabia, Libya, Ethiopia, Romania, Bulgaria, Kazakhstan, Turkey, and Russia.
The visual was intended to depict the alleged missile range of Iran, as part of Israel’s broader messaging that Tehran posed a global threat.
The graphic included an inaccurate depiction of India’s borders — and Indian netizens were quick to call it out. Some even tagged Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, demanding the post be deleted and reposted with the correct map.
Aksai Chin, which is part of Ladakh, was also excluded from Indian territory. Arunachal Pradesh was also misrepresented in the map.
One of the X user, bvnbhargava (@bvnbhargava, posted, “Forget precision, it’s no way near the truth. Why not change it rather than posting this sorry note? You need to understand India sentiments and our relationship. Batter late than never, change it ASAP plz.”
Roughly 90 minutes after the first wave of backlash, the IDF issued a public apology.
Many users wrote: “Delete it, repost it.”
“Forget precision, it’s no way near the truth. Why not change it rather than posting this sorry note? You need to understand India sentiments and our relationship. Better late than never, change it ASAP plz,” one user replied.
After correction of the graphics, one of the user posted, “Israel is a friend of India. Only a friend will apologize for a mistake.”
So far, the Indian government hasn’t officially responded to the map gaffe. India’s relationship with Israel has grown significantly, with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s historic visit in 2017 marking a new era of cooperation. Today, India is one of Israel’s largest military and trade partners.
India has spent USD 9 billion on defense purchases from Israel between 1999 and 2010, making Israel India’s second-largest supplier of military equipment after Russia. In return, Israel relies heavily on India, with approximately 42.1% of its arms exports going to the country.
Israel has spent USD 3.2 billion on crude oil and diamonds from India, showcasing the country’s importance in Israel’s trade landscape.
The two nations engage in joint military training and intelligence-sharing, particularly on counter-terrorism efforts. Israel has also provided humanitarian aid to India, such as after the 2001 Gujarat earthquake.
Indian companies like ONGC Videsh, Bharat PetroResources, Indian Oil, and Oil India have been awarded exploration licenses to extract natural gas from Israel’s Tamar and Levianthan gas fields.
In recent times, Israel has expressed support for India’s actions against terrorism, including publicly praising India’s airstrikes on Pakistan following the Pahalgam attack.
Meanwhile, The Shahran oil depot near Tehran was targeted in an Israeli attack on Saturday night, sources confirmed to The Jerusalem Post.
Defense Minister Israel Katz said, “Tehran is ablaze” on X as footage circulated on social media from the outcome of the strikes.
“The fuel volume in the targeted tank was not high, and the situation is fully under control,” Iran’s oil ministry’s SHANA news agency reported.
Syria has closed its airspace for commercial flights until Sunday morning, state news agency SANA reported on Saturday night.
The IDF conducted strikes in Yemen on Saturday night in an attempted targeted attack on senior Houthi military leader, Mohammed Abd al-Karim al-Ramari, IDF sources confirmed to the Jerusalem Post.
“We will soon know if it succeeded,” an Israeli source told The Jerusalem Post.
The IDF is also striking targets in Tehran simultaneously with efforts to intercept a wave of ballistic missiles from Iran, the military said.
On Friday, June 13 Israel launched a large-scale strike on Iranian territory, targeting nuclear sites, Iran launched three retaliatory waves of missiles at targets in Israel.
Projectiles were seen in the skies above Jerusalem late Saturday as Iran and Israel launched another round of missiles at each other, according to CNN.
Israel has launched a wave of strikes targeting different areas of Iran, according to the Israeli military and Iranian media.
Israel Defense Forces (IDF) Spokesperson Effie Defrin said that the Israeli Air Force’s (IAF) “ongoing operation” has lasted nearly 40 hours and targeted over 150 objectives.
“IAF aircraft are completing a wave of strikes against military and strategic assets, nuclear program sites, and high-ranking figures in Iran’s terror leadership. These are significant targets at the very heart of Iran and its terrorist proxies,” Defrin said.
The IDF confirmed that they are currently striking military targets in Tehran.Air defenses were activated in several Iranian cities, including Tehran, Isfahan, and Mashhad, Iran’s state-owned Press TV reported.
Iranian state media also posted videos purportedly of air defenses intercepting projectiles in Zanjan and Khorramabad.
Iran has launched a new barrage of projectiles towards Israel, state media outlet IRNA reported late Saturday.The Iranian outlet said that this latest volley includes both missiles and drones. (ANI)
