When Gaza was under severe attack by Israeli fighters and mass-scale genocide of Palestinians was carried out by the Israeli army, a cargo vessel loaded with lethal weapons departed from Chennai, India, on 2 May 2024, destined for Israel’s port of Ashdod, some 30 km from the Gaza Strip.

This was revealed in an investigative report by Qatar-based Al Jazeera on 26 June 2024, based on documents strongly suggesting Israel is receiving Indian weapons as it wages war in Gaza.

According to the investigative report, on 15 May, the cargo vessel Borkum stopped off the Spanish coast, lingering in the waters a short distance from Cartagena. At the port, protesters waved Palestinian flags and called on authorities to inspect the ship amid suspicions that it carried weapons bound for Israel.

It is not known how these protesters came to know that the cargo vessel Borkum was loaded with weapons supplied by India and destined for Israel to be used against the Palestinians of Gaza.

In addition, nine leftist members of the European Parliament sent a letter to Spanish President Pedro Sánchez, requesting that the ship be prevented from docking. “Allowing a ship loaded with weapons destined for Israel is to allow the transit of arms to a country currently under investigation for genocide against the Palestinian people,” the letter added.

Before the Spanish government could take a stand, the Borkum cancelled its planned stopover and continued to the Slovenian port of Koper.

Marine tracking sites show it departed Chennai and circumnavigated Africa to avoid transiting through the Red Sea, where Yemen’s Houthis have been attacking vessels in reprisal for Israel’s war.

The identification codes specified in the documentation, obtained unofficially by the Solidarity Network Against the Palestinian Occupation (RESCOP), suggest that the Borkum contained 20 tonnes of rocket engines, 12.5 tonnes of rockets with explosive charges, 1,500 kg of explosive substances, and 740 kg of charges and propellants for cannons.

A paragraph on confidentiality specified that all employees, consultants or other relevant parties were mandated that “under no circumstances” should the name of IMI Systems or Israel be mentioned at any cost. IMI Systems, a defence firm, was bought by Elbit Systems, Israel’s largest weapons manufacturer, in 2018.

The use of Hermes drones has been documented by Human Rights Watch (HRW) and other organisations in previous conflicts in Gaza as well

The use of Hermes drones has been documented by Human Rights Watch (HRW) and other organisations in previous conflicts in Gaza as well

The commercial manager of the ship, the German company MLB Manfred Lauterjung Befrachtung, told Al Jazeera in a statement that “the vessel did not load any weapons or any other cargo for the destination Israel”.

A second cargo ship that had departed India was denied entry on 21 May to the port of Cartagena. Spanish newspaper El País reported that the Marianne Danica left from India’s port of Chennai and was en route to Israel’s port of Haifa with a cargo of 27 tonnes of explosives. European Union Minister of Foreign Affairs José Manuel Albares confirmed in a news conference that the vessel was denied entry because it was shipping military cargo to Israel.

These incidents add to mounting evidence that weapon parts from India, a country that has long advocated dialogue over military action in resolving conflicts, are quietly making their way to Israel, including during the war in Gaza.

Zain Hussain, a researcher at the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), told Al Jazeera that “collaboration between India and Israel has been happening for quite a few years now”, therefore “it’s not unfeasible that we may see some made-in-India components being used by Israel in its war on Gaza”.

On 6 June, in the aftermath of Israel’s bombing of a United Nations shelter at the Nuseirat refugee camp in Gaza, the Quds News Network released a video of the remains of a missile dropped by Israeli warplanes.

Amid the tangled parts, a label clearly read: “Made in India.”

Hussain, who researches the transfer of conventional arms at the Stockholm-based think tank, said the video required further investigation but observed that a large share of the collaboration between India and Israel is known to revolve around missile production, in particular the Barak surface-to-air missile.

According to SIPRI, the Indian company Premier Explosives Limited makes solid propellants – a significant part of the rocket motors, but not the whole motor – for MRSAM and LRSAM missiles. These are the Indian designations for Barak medium- and long-range surface-to-air missiles of Israeli design.

The company’s executive director, T. Chowdary, admitted to exporting to Israel amid the current war in Gaza during a conference call on 31 March. “We have received the pending revenue from the Israel export order, and this has shown an exponential jump in the revenue of the quarter,” he told investors, according to the minutes of the meeting. “We are happy to announce that we have the highest-ever quarterly revenue.”

On that occasion, T. Chowdary presented Premier Explosives Limited as “the only Indian company which specialises in the export of fully assembled rocket motors”. In addition, he said the company had begun manufacturing mines and ammunition and started exporting RDX and HMX explosives, commonly used in military weapons systems.

In its January 2024 overview, the company listed exports to Israel in the “defence & space” sector, which SIPRI deemed likely to include propellants for Barak missiles.

Yet, India’s collaboration with Israel goes far beyond rocket propellants.

In December 2018, Adani Defence & Aerospace – the defence arm of Indian multinational holding company Adani Enterprises Ltd – and Israel’s Elbit Systems inaugurated the Adani Elbit Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Complex (UAV) in Hyderabad, India.

“The production of Hermes drones is as important for India as it is for Israel,” SIPRI’s Hussain said. “For Israel, it means they have a factory outside of the country. For India, it’s about technology transfer, so that it can also produce drones based on the Israeli model.”

The use of Hermes drones has been documented by Human Rights Watch (HRW) and other organisations in previous conflicts in Gaza as well. Lebanon’s Hezbollah fighters said they shot down an armed Hermes 900 drone in its airspace.

Al Jazeera sought comments from India’s Ministry of External Affairs and Ministry of Defence on 17 June and again on 21 June 2024, but has not received a response.

© The Friday Times