ISLAMABAD: Israel on Sunday celebrated India’s win against Pakistan in Saturday’s World Cup fixture, saying the loss had kept Islamabad from dedicating its victory to the “terrorists of Hamas.” 

This past week, Israel has subjected Gaza to the most intense bombardment in the enclave’s history, putting 2.3 million Palestinians under total siege and destroying much of the territory’s infrastructure. The Gaza Health Ministry said on Sunday 2,329 Palestinians had been killed since the fighting erupted, more than in the 2014 Gaza war, which lasted over six weeks. 

Israel says the bombardment is in response to a massive attack by Hamas fighters who stormed through Israeli towns on Oct. 7, killing 1,300 people and taking hostages. 

Pakistan does not recognize the state of Israel and supports an independent Palestinian state based on “internationally agreed parameters” and the pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital. 

On Wednesday, Pakistan batter Mohammad Rizwan dedicated his knock against Sri Lanka on Tuesday to the victims of the Israel-Palestine war in Gaza. 

At the India-Pakistan match in Ahmedabad on Saturday, many Indian fans were seen carrying posters in support of Israel and Rizwan faced a backlash from fans in the bleachers for his support of Palestinians. 

India’s official stance on the recent conflict is that it stands “firmly” with Israel. 

In an X post on Sunday, the Israeli foreign ministry said it was “really moved” by the show of solidarity for Israel by Indian fans during Saturday’s game, in which India hammered Pakistan by seven wickets. 

“We are happy that India emerged victorious in the #INDvsPAK match at #CWC23 and that Pakistan was unable to attribute its victory to the terrorists of #Hamas,” read a post on Israel’s official X account. 

The development comes as Israel has intensified its attempts to destroy the Hamas group, deploying tens of thousands of soldiers near Gaza ahead of an expected ground offensive. 

On Sunday, Pakistan’s Caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani announced he would attend an urgent meeting of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) next week in Jeddah to discuss escalating military tensions in Gaza, condemning Israel for committing “genocide” against Palestinians. 

“As part of the OIC executive committee from Pakistan, I will be attending the OIC extraordinary meeting on the Palestine issue,” Jilani said. “As a matter of fact, it is a genocide being conducted by Israel against the innocent people of Palestine.”