Suppliers of drones, military sensors and surveillance technology are among 45 Israeli companies expected at events in Hyderabad and Bengaluru
An Israeli soldier takes position at a checkpoint in the Israeli-occupied West Bank on 23 October 2026 (Ahmad Gharabali/AFP)
Published date: 13 November 2026 08:00 GMT | Last update:58 mins 40 secs ago
Several Israeli firms whose military equipment has been used in the genocidal war on Gaza are heading to India later this month to explore partnerships with local firms, Middle East Eye can reveal.
Twenty Israeli companies are expected to attend a start-up event in Hyderabad, Telangana, on 16 November, organised by T-Hub, which describes itself as “the world’s largest startup hub”, supporting founders through programmes, partnerships and access to global markets.
A further 25 Israeli companies are expected at the Bengaluru Tech Summit, billed as Asia’s premier platform for technology, commerce and innovation, which runs from 17 to 19 November.
The companies include XTEND, whose drones have been deployed by Israeli forces in Gaza, including one allegedly used to track and film the killing of Hamas leader Yahya Sinwar on 16 October 2024.
Also attending are Dagan-Optics, a supplier of equipment to Israeli military units, and Netzer Precision, whose sensors are incorporated into Israeli tanks and armoured personnel carriers.
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The summits are intended to provide opportunities for technological collaboration and commercial partnerships between Israeli tech companies and local firms.
An MEE analysis of the companies scheduled to attend has found that several are either directly involved in Israel’s military operations in Gaza or materially connected to the country’s wider military-industrial complex, including its occupation infrastructure in the occupied West Bank.
‘India’s police and investigative agencies are buying surveillance and forensic tools from abroad faster than Parliament is writing rules for them’
– IFF spokesperson
At least 250,000 Palestinians have been killed or injured over the past three years, with more than 1,600 killed since a so-called ceasefire went into effect in October 2025.
The events come at a sensitive time in India, following revelations by the Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) that the central government and several state governments had cleared to purchase mobile phone extraction technology from Israeli firm Cellebrite.
Cellebrite technology is reported to have been used to extract information from Palestinians detained by Israel, many of whom have been tortured.
The company also has a record of its technology being used by governments around the world to access devices belonging to activists and journalists.
India has witnessed a wave of protests in recent months, and activists fear authorities may have used the technology to unlawfully extract data from the phones of people detained during demonstrations.
The IFF investigation also found that states governed by the main opposition Congress party had purchased the technology, underscoring the bipartisan nature of India’s ties with Israel.
“India’s police and investigative agencies are buying surveillance and forensic tools from abroad faster than Parliament is writing rules for them,” an IFF spokesperson told MEE.
“In India, the people on whom such tools get used first are protesters, journalists, Kashmiris and Adivasi communities, because they have the least ability to find out and push back,” the spokesperson said.
Complicity in genocide
The summits scheduled for mid-November are the latest in a series of interactions between the business communities of India and Israel, spanning electronics, technology and cyber security, since the genocide began in October 2023.
The events will showcase a broad range of Israeli companies working in artificial intelligence, robotics, semiconductors and defence technology, several of which have links to Israel’s military operations in Gaza.
Dagan-Optics, which manufactures thermal imaging and targeting equipment, has said it donated products to the Israeli military, including armoured units, paratroopers and infantry.
“In return, we only asked for feedback and opinions about the products from the users,” the company’s founder, Rafael Dagan, said in an advertorial published in Haaretz in August 2024.
XTEND, meanwhile, has supplied the small drones deployed by Israeli forces in Gaza.
Several reports have claimed that XTEND drones were used to track down Sinwar and film him during his final moments.
Reuters reported in January 2025 that XTEND was “one of many to get a boost from Israel’s war needs”.
Months later, Israel’s Defence Ministry Procurement Directorate announced that the company had won a tender to “supply thousands of FPV (first person view) drones to the IDF Ground Forces”.
Another firm heading to India, Netzer Precision, has supplied sensors for several Israeli weapons systems, including Merkava tanks used in Gaza, as well as armoured personnel carriers.
According to an advert, Merkava tanks, considered Israel’s premier tank, have been used “in urban raids and to support infantry in densely built environments where ambushes, improvised explosive devices (IEDs), and anti-tank threats are constant”.
All three companies are scheduled to attend both the Hyderabad event and the Bengaluru summit, which is organised by Karnataka’s Department of Electronics, IT and Biotechnology among others.
MEE found that besides these three companies, several other firms with close links to Israel’s military-industrial complex and occupation infrastructure will also participate.
These include: Jeen.ai, an AI software company that provides critical AI infrastructure to the Israeli security establishment; Orca Security, a cyber security firm that says 90 percent of its team has a military background; and Magal Solutions, an Israeli security and technology firm that installed intrusion detection systems and sensors along the fence around Gaza and sections of Israel’s separation barrier in the occupied West Bank.
Magal has also been linked to the installation of sensors along the fence on the de-facto border with Pakistan in Indian-controlled Kashmir.
Another company making the trip is Ruby AI, a robotics firm that developed a “mechanical octopus” to clean Israeli army tanks.
The Jerusalem Post reported that the company was seeking to develop “a robot capable of performing a task that is extremely dangerous for a soldier: clearing underground tunnels”.
Accelerating collaborations
Over the past three years, cooperation between India and Israel has extended beyond government departments and technology companies.
Several Israeli universities have also deepened ties with their Indian counterparts, as student-led campaigns at universities in the West have put pressure on academic institutions to sever links with Israel.
Second Israeli soldier accused of Gaza war crimes leaves India after complaint
In March 2024, Indian Institute of Technology-Delhi and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) signed an applied research agreement, while several other Indian Institutes of Technology across the country have continued discussions with Israeli institutions of higher education.
Meanwhile, thousands of Israelis continue to travel to India on holiday after completing their military service. Indian authorities were urged to initiate arrest proceedings against two former Israeli soldiers accused of war crimes in Gaza while holidaying in the country.
Both men subsequently left India, with New Delhi showing little interest in pursuing the allegations.
The Indian government and the private sector have also been implicated in supplying weapons to Israel during the genocide.
In July, Amnesty International documented at least 2,596 shipments of weapons, ammunition, parts and components exported from India to Israel between 7 October 2023 and 30 November 2025.
“Before any Indian agency signs with these vendors, it should publish what it is buying, the law it relies on to use it, and who will audit that use,” the spokesperson with the IFF added.
“At the moment none of those three things exists.”
MEE reached out to T-Hub, XTEND, Dagan-Optics, Netzer Precision, Magal Solutions and the organisers of the Bengaluru Tech Summit for comment, but did not receive a response by time of publication.
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