A manipulated video circulating widely on social media claims that during his historic February 25, 2026, visit to Israel, PM Narendra Modi declared that India and Israel would extend “all possible cooperation” to the Afghan Taliban regime.
The clip, amplified by some journalists and social media users, portrayed this as a new India-Israel “nexus” targeting Pakistan amid escalating Pakistan-Afghan border clashes.
It further alleged that Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu voiced similar support during a joint news conference with Modi, including references to aid packages.
But it was later learned that PM Modi did not hold a joint news conference with the Israeli PM, and that the two leaders addressed the Israeli Parliament (Knesset) separately, during which Netanyahu did not discuss Afghanistan, the Taliban, or Pakistan.
According to the Indian Prime Minister’s Office, this was the first address by any Indian Prime Minister to the Israeli Parliament, and in this address, Prime Minister Modi stressed the need to advance relations between the two countries.
The EurAsian Times reviewed the speeches of both prime ministers in detail and found no mention of Afghanistan, the Taliban, or Pakistan.
The Israeli Prime Minister actually said in his speech that Israel is at the forefront of the fight against radical Islam.
The deepfake video also showed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi mentioning the name of Afghan Taliban supreme leader Mullah Haibatullah and announcing billions of dollars in aid for Afghanistan.
An X user wrote that these videos are AI, but the nexus between India and Israel regarding the objectives in the region, directly or indirectly, is not hidden from anyone.
Pakistan Bombs Afghanistan
Pakistan bombed major cities in Afghanistan, including the capital Kabul, on Friday, with Islamabad’s defence minister declaring the neighbours at “open war” following months of tit-for-tat clashes.
Pakistan’s latest operation came after Afghan forces attacked Pakistani border troops on Thursday night over earlier air strikes by Islamabad.
Relations between the neighbours have plunged in recent months, with land border crossings largely shut since deadly fighting in October that killed more than 70 people on both sides.
Islamabad accuses Afghanistan of failing to act against militant groups that carry out attacks in Pakistan, which the Taliban government denies.
Several rounds of negotiations followed an initial ceasefire brokered by Qatar and Turkey, but the efforts have failed to produce a lasting agreement.
Both militaries said they killed dozens of soldiers in the latest round of border violence, which followed multiple Pakistani strikes on Afghanistan and clashes along the frontier in recent months.
“Afghan Taliban defence targets were targeted in Kabul, Paktia (province), and Kandahar,” Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar posted on X, while Defence Minister Khawaja Asif declared an “all-out confrontation” with the Taliban government.
“Our patience has reached its limit. Now it is open war between us and you,” he posted on the social media platform.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said his country’s armed forces can “have the full capability to crush any aggressive ambitions”.
The Taliban government confirmed the Pakistani air strikes, with spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid saying there were no casualties.
Hours earlier, Mujahid announced “large-scale offensive operations” at the border in response to repeated violations by the Pakistani military.
The Afghan defence ministry reported eight of its soldiers had been killed in the land offensive.
An Afghan official reported multiple civilians wounded near the Torkham border crossing, at a camp for people returning from Pakistan.
“A mortar shell has hit the camp, and unfortunately, seven of our refugees have been wounded, and the condition of one woman is serious,” said Qureshi Badlun, the information chief in Nangarhar province.
Mujahid, the Taliban government spokesman, told AFP that several Pakistani soldiers had been “caught alive”, a claim denied by the prime minister’s office in Islamabad.
The military operation follows Pakistani strikes on Nangarhar and Paktika provinces overnight into Sunday, which the UN mission in Afghanistan said killed at least 13 civilians.
Both sides also reported cross-border fire on Tuesday, but without casualties.
There has been a series of deadly suicide blasts in Pakistan and Afghanistan in recent months. They included an attack on a Shiite mosque in Islamabad that killed at least 40 people and was claimed by the Islamic State group.
By Agence France-Presse & ET Online Desk
