National Security Adviser Ajit Doval met Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Monday during the first visit by a senior government functionary to Israel after the start of the war in Gaza in October last year.

There was no official word from India on the visit almost a day after the meeting was disclosed by the office of the Israeli Prime Minister on X (formerly Twitter).

In the post, Israeli PM’s office said: ``Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu met today with Indian National Security Advisor Ajit Doval and updated him on recent developments in the fighting in the Gaza Strip. The sides also discussed the effort to release the hostages and the issue of humanitarian assistance.’’

The Director of the National Security Council, the Prime Minister's Foreign Policy Advisor and the Indian Ambassador to Israel also participated in the meeting, the official announcement from Israel further said.

While there have been several telephonic conversations between Netanyahu and Prime Minister Narendra Modi since October 7 – when Hamas took Israeli security forces by surprise and launched a full scale terror attack on Israel – this is the first time a senior Indian government functionary has visited the country since this latest chapter in the protracted conflict began.

India has been shifting its position on the situation in Gaza since October 7 while advocating a two-state solution to the Israel-Palestine conflict and sending relief material for the Palestinians. After initially abstaining from a UNGA resolution calling for a humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza on October 18, India backed such a call on December 13.