Amid growing worries about Hamas' efforts to rebuild its network in Gaza and use international proxies for attacks, Israel has formally asked India to designate Hamas as a terrorist organisation. Israeli officials said that the group’s increasing links with Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba and Iran-backed networks are becoming a serious security concern for both countries.

A senior official from Israel’s foreign ministry, while speaking to journalists in Jerusalem, said, "We request that India must work hard to sanction and designate organisations such as Hamas as terrorist groups. Israel designated Lashkar-e-Taiba a few years ago. We would like to see reciprocation from India."

Israel designated Lashkar-e-Taiba as a terror group in 2023, a month after the October 7 attacks.

This request comes after similar statements from the Israeli Defence Forces, as Lieutenant Colonel Nadav Shoshani, the IDF’s International Spokesperson, said that India and Israel “have a common enemy" and that an official ban would send a strong message. "It’s not just about freezing assets or banning operatives. It signals that no Hamas operative should step on Indian soil," he added.

Israeli officials say that India is aware of the growing links between Iranian-backed groups and global terror organisations. They warn that banning Hamas could shape counterterrorism policies in nearby countries such as Bangladesh, the Maldives and Nepal.

The foreign ministry official pointed to rising coordination between Hamas and Lashkar-e-Taiba and to Iran’s use of international criminal groups to carry out secret attacks.

The official said, "We are seeing significant links between Hamas and Lashkar-e-Taiba. Hamas and Hezbollah are using international criminal proxies to operate terror attacks. We won’t see an Iranian operative attack in Europe, but rather an international proxy linked to Iran as seen in London."

Israel has also urged New Delhi to stop its financial support to UNRWA, the UN agency for Palestinian refugees, accusing it of deep Hamas infiltration. India donated $5 million to UNRWA in 2024-25. However, officials stated that India maintained a balanced approach in West Asia.

Israeli officials also said that Iran has not changed its regional plan despite the 12-day conflict with Israel in June and subsequent US strikes on Iranian nuclear sites.

An official said, "We believed Iran’s policy would shift after the war, but Tehran is instead doubling down on proxies such as Hamas and Hezbollah."

They added that the current US pressure on Iran is not enough and said, "Sanctions and designations are a start, but enforcement must be much stronger." While Israel says it does not aim for regime change in Iran, the official added that any change caused by economic pressure "would not be a bad thing."

Officials also said that one of Israel's most urgent worries is Iran’s increasing influence in Africa, mainly in the unstable Horn of Africa.

An official said, "One of our biggest concerns now is the spillover of Iranian influence into Sudan."

Iran is believed to view Sudan as a key point in widening the Axis of Resistance and as a forward base for Hamas activities. Israeli officials say that weapons are already being moved through local militia networks.

Sudan and Iran restored diplomatic relations in 2024 during Sudan’s civil war. Since then, the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps is believed to have supplied drones, ammunition and intelligence to the Sudanese Armed Forces, with officials warning that Sudan’s strategic location along the Red Sea makes it an important base for Tehran at a time when Houthi activity has reduced after US and Israeli strikes.