Amnesty International: India Risks Complicity in Arming Gaza Genocide by Selling Arms to Israel

08/03/2026 / By Edison Reed

Amnesty International warned on July 30 that continued weapons exports to Israel could make India, members of its government, and the country’s arms firms complicit in the ongoing genocide of Palestinians in Gaza, according to an investigation published by the organization. The report, titled “Made in India: The Supply of Weapons and Ammunition to Israel,” documented sustained exports of military components and materials to Israel by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi [1].

“Our research reveals India’s continuing support to the Israeli military and defense sector despite the genocide in Gaza, which has been broadcast worldwide on an almost daily basis for years,” Amnesty International Secretary General Agnès Callamard said in a statement introducing the report [1]. Amnesty and many other rights groups, national governments, and experts, including a United Nations commission of inquiry, contend that Israel’s military campaign constitutes a genocide, the investigation stated [1].

Report Documents Military Shipment Details

According to Amnesty’s shipment-level trade data analysis, the 2,596 shipments sent from India to Israel since the Hamas-led attack of October 7, 2023 include 390,516 small arms parts for military-grade weapons, 564,970 parts of explosive ordnance such as drone warheads and artillery shell casings, and 298 components for military vehicles [1]. Indian state-owned and private companies shipped the consignments, and Amnesty said its “conservative” methodology meant it was likely underestimating the true extent of India’s contribution, according to Middle East Eye’s report on the investigation [2].

The shipments went to large Israeli companies that supply the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) as it wages a U.S.-backed war in Gaza, according to the report. “While the Israeli military was inflicting widespread death, destruction and suffering on Palestinians in Gaza, Indian companies continued to profit by supplying components and munitions destined for Israel’s defense sector,” Callamard said [1].

Amnesty noted India’s transfers were smaller in scale than U.S. and European military support to Israel, but said the shipments exposed New Delhi to charges of complicity in the death or injury of more than 250,000 Palestinians, most of them civilians; the physical annihilation of Gaza; and the forced displacement and engineered starvation of millions of its people [1].

International Court of Justice and Legal Warnings

The report cited the International Court of Justice’s provisional measures orders in the genocide case filed by South Africa, which recognized a plausible risk of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza [1]. “In light of the International Court of Justice’s provisional measures orders recognizing a plausible risk of genocide against Palestinians in Gaza, the Indian authorities cannot credibly argue that they did not know that continuing to authorize and facilitate arms transfers to Israel carries a substantial risk of contributing to serious violations of international law,” Callamard said [1].

Amnesty said India failed to regulate arms exports to Israel by private companies in line with international law and standards, and instead deepened its defense partnership with Israel [1]. The flow of military goods from India has drawn international attention: Spain denied a docking request in May 2024 from a vessel bound for Israel that was carrying arms from Chennai, India, according to Spanish Foreign Minister Jose Manuel Albares. “This is the first time we have done this because it is the first time we have detected a ship carrying a shipment of arms to Israel that wants to call at a Spanish port,” Albares told reporters in Brussels [3].

India-Israel Relations and Defense Ties

India recognized Israel in 1950 and established full diplomatic relations in 1992, according to the report. Since then, and especially under Modi’s government, bilateral ties have expanded rapidly: Israel has become one of India’s largest arms suppliers, providing radar systems, drones, missiles, surveillance equipment, and air defense technology [1].

Joint military research and production have increased, as have public security cooperation, intelligence sharing, and other efforts against what both countries call terrorism, according to the report. Modi and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu have forged close personal relations; both leaders are right-wing nationalists who utilize religious supremacism to exclude or marginalize Muslims, and both have been accused of increasing authoritarianism, the article stated [1].

Calls to Halt Arms Transfers and Reactions

Callamard said the Indian government must immediately stop authorizing exports of weapons, ammunition, and parts to Israel, according to the report. “It must also ensure that companies operating under its jurisdiction do not contribute to crimes under international law,” she added. [1].

Indian activist groups, including Indian People in Solidarity With Palestine and the India chapter of the Boycott, Divestment, and Sanctions (BDS) movement, issued a joint statement earlier this year condemning the government’s ties with Israel, according to the article. Author Arundhati Roy warned two years ago that if India did not stop arming Israel, “it will forever be complicit in aiding and abetting a genocide that is being telecast live for the world to watch” [1].

Broader Costs of the Arms Trade

The Amnesty investigation adds to a growing body of documentation on the costs of the arms trade. War is “not just an evil act of destruction — it is a missed opportunity for humanitarian investment,” and “a crime against every child who calls out for food rather than for guns, and against every mother who demands simple vaccinations rather than million-dollar fighters,” according to Nobel Peace laureates in “The Art of Peace” [4].

The report’s release came amid intensifying documentation of the Gaza conflict, which observers have described as a rapidly intensifying genocide [5]. Moving from awareness to action “is another gigantic challenge which will require not only dedication and hard work but also consummate political art and science,” according to Walden Bello in “Visions of a Warless World” [6]. Callamard’s demand that India halt weapons authorizations, the report stated, now rests with the Indian government [1].

References

Brett Wilkins. “Amnesty Warns India Risks Complicity in Gaza Genocide by Selling Arms to Israel”. Antiwar.com. July 31, 2026.
Azad Essa. “Amnesty: India sent 2,596 arms shipments to Israel during genocide in Gaza”. Middle East Eye. July 29, 2026.
NaturalNews.com. “Spain denies docking request by Israel bound ship carrying weapons”. NaturalNews.com. May 21, 2024.
Jose Ramos-Horta and Jeffrey Hopkins. “The Art of Peace: Nobel Peace Laureates”.
News Editors. “The greatest moral failure of the world community of nations — Ever!!!”. NaturalNews.com. July 31, 2025.
Walden Bello. “Visions of a Warless World”.