How India's Op Sindoor and Israel's Op Rising Lion were similar

India Today

26-06-2025

A tenuous ceasefire holds for now between Israel and Iran after a 12-day war that began with Israeli jets striking Iranian nuclear sites. Israel's Operation Rising Lion came just weeks after India's Operation Sindoor. There are similarities on the ground and the way both countries crossed lines that were never crossed before.India's May 7 aerial attack on terror camps in Pakistan came after Pakistani and Pakistan-trained terrorists killed 26 civilians in Pahalgam, south Kashmir. Israel sent jets to target nuclear facilities inside Iran, a country whose leadership has threatened the very existence of the Jewish nation.While the India-Pakistan mini-war lasted for three days before the Pakistani DGMO sued for peace, the Israel-Iran war continued for 12 days. The damage to civilian infrastructure in the military conflict in the recent Middle East conflict was massive too.There are sharp contrasts in how both the operations were carried out, and in how the US engaged militarily by sending its B-2 stealth bombers. But the parallels between India's Op Sindoor and Israel's Op Rising Lion are remarkable too.1. INDIA, ISRAEL JETS STRUCK INSIDE ENEMY TERRITORY"India attacked terrorist camps and military infrastructure inside Pakistan using the Indian Air Force (IAF). Israel did the same inside Iran, using the Israeli Air Force (IAF) on a far bigger scale," defence expert Sandeep Unnithan tells India Today Digital.In India's case, this was the first time that its fighter planes hit targets in the heart of Pakistan -- in Punjab -- since the 1971 Indo-Pak War. Unlike Israeli fighters, Indian jets didn't cross over into Pakistan.Both the Indian and the Israeli air forces used precision-guided munitions to carry out the attacks."Obviously, the recent 88-hour India-Pakistan conflict was much more limited than the 12-day Israel-Iran conflict, but in terms of messaging there's a strong parallel," reads a post on X by author-columnist Sadanand Dhume.In both cases, says Dhume, "...One side (India, Israel) crossed previously uncrossed red lines, and inflicted much more damage than the other".2. THE IRAN, PAKISTAN N-FACTORThe nuclear factor is also common in both operations."Nuclear-armed Israel attacked Iran to prevent it from getting nuclear weapons. India attacked nuclear-armed Pakistan, and called out Pakistan's nuclear blackmail," explains Unnithan.With Operation Sindoor, India called out Pakistan's nuclear bluff and exposed the narrative that it was the nuclear weapons that prevented an all-out war between the two countries. The N-tag couldn't prevent the 25-minute operation when Indian fighter jets struck inside Pakistan and Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir.Israel's operation, later joined in by the US, was targeted at keeping Iran away from nuclear weapons.Though President Donald Trump claimed that Iran's sites targeted by the US had been "totally destroyed", American media outlets, quoting intel reports, said the setback was temporary.By targeting the Nur Khan airbase in Chaklala, India signalled it could decapitate Pakistan's nuclear command centre."Pakistan's deepest fear is of its nuclear command authority being decapitated. The missile strike on Nur Khan could have been interpreted... as a warning that India could do just that," The New York Times quoted a former US official familiar with Pakistan's nuclear programme as saying.3. IRAN, PAKISTAN AIR DEFENCES PUT OUT OF ACTIONAfter Pakistan targeted Indian defence and civilian areas, India retaliated and put its air defence and air bases out of action.Pakistan's China-made air defence systems failed miserably, and India used its indigenous BrahMos missiles to turn Pakistani military runways into Swiss cheese.By neutralising the air defence system at Lahore, India opened the skies over the Pakistani capital, showing it could strike at will.Israel didn't just indicate, but put Iranian air defences completely out of action. That was also the reason why the American B-2 bombers could go on a 37-hour mission to strike targets inside Iran.4. PAKISTAN AND IRAN'S PROXIESThere are similarities even in the pain points of India and Israel.Since the time it was created, Pakistan has tried to bleed India through proxy terror groups. Israel, too, has been a victim of Iran's non-state actors."India has accused Pakistan of rearing non-state actors like LeT and Jaish-e-Mohammed. Israel has accused Iran of rearing anti-Israeli proxies like Hamas, Hezbollah and the Houthis," says Unnithan.If the Pahalgam terror attack, carried out by The Resistance Front (a front for the LeT) made India carry out Op Sindoor, it was the October 7, 2023, Hamas attack in which over a thousand people were killed in Israel triggered the fresh cycle of violence that culminated in Operation Rising Lion.advertisementFrom tackling the proxies, both India and Israel went full hammer against the states sponsoring them.It was a doctrinal shift for India, while for Israel, it was a continuation of the 'Begin Doctrine' -- the willingness for anticipatory strikes against Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) capacities in perceived hostile nations.5. THE CEASEFIRE, TRUMP AND WARNING OF MORE ACTIONPresident Trump jumped to declare that his administration had brokered a truce between India and Pakistan, like he did in the case of Iran and Israel.India has rejected the claims, and said it was a call from the Pakistani DGMO on the afternoon of May 10 that led to the ceasefire.In the case of Iran and Israel, Trump's claims of a ceasefire was left in tatters after Iran fired missiles into Tel Aviv after the US President's claims of a truce and Israel said it would retaliate.Even in the India-Pakistan mini-war, Pakistan breached the ceasefire in the initial hours, sending in swarms of drones.The similarity in both operations continues despite the ceasefire pacts.India has asserted that Operation Sindoor hasn't ended, but remains suspended."The enemy [Pakistan] should not be under any illusion... Operation Sindoor is not over yet," Prime Minister Narendra Modi, adding that India's response to terror attacks would be decisive and uncompromising.Operation Sindoor is the new normal, as India would be treating any terror attack as an act of war against India.When asked on June 25 if the US would strike again if Iran rebuilt its nuclear enrichment programme, Trump responded by saying, "Sure", reported Reuters."Iran will not enrich -- the last thing they want to do is enrich," he said.Tehran insists on its right to a peaceful civilian nuclear programme.From the triggers to how they were carried out to the messaging, there are similarities in both India's Op Sindoor and Israel's Op Rising Lion.- EndsTune InMust Watch