India exports rockets, explosives to Israel amid Gaza war: AJ report

India has been reportedly exporting weapons and military equipment, including rockets and explosives, to Israel amid the ongoing war in Gaza, the AL Jazeera reports citing leaked European Parliament documents.

An Indian cargo vessel containing more than 30 tons of rockets and explosives for the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) was stopped off the Spanish coast, the report states citing a letter sent by leftist members of the European Parliament to Spanish President Pedro Sánchez requesting that the ship be prevented from docking.

"Allowing a ship loaded with weapons destined for Israel is to allow the transit of arms to a country currently under investigation for genocide against the Palestinian people," the group of nine MEPs warned.

However, before the Spanish government could take a stand, the ship, Borkum, cancelled its planned stopover and continued to the Slovenian port of Koper.

 "We were right," Inigo Errejon, the spokesperson for the hard-left Sumar party wrote on X, arguing that the Borkum's decision to skip Cartagena confirmed the suspicions.

The ship, Borkum, was en route to Israel's port of Ashdod, some 30km (18 miles) from the Gaza Strip, according to Al Jazeera.

Citing marine tracking sites, Al Jazeera reported that Borkum departed Chennai in southeast India on 2 April and circumnavigated Africa to avoid transiting through the Red Sea, where Yemen's Houthis have been attacking vessels in reprisal for Israel's war.

"The identification codes specified in the documentation, obtained unofficially by the Solidarity Network Against the Palestinian Occupation (RESCOP), suggest the Borkum contained 20 tonnes of rocket engines, 12.5 tonnes of rockets with explosive charges, 1,500kg (3,300 pounds) of explosive substances and 740kg (1,630 pounds) of charges and propellants for cannons," wrote Al Jazeera.

A paragraph on confidentiality specified that all employees, consultants or other relevant parties were mandated that "under no circumstances" were they to name IMI Systems or Israel. IMI Systems, a defence firm, was bought by Elbit Systems, Israel's largest weapons manufacturer, in 2018.

However, the commercial manager of the ship, the German company MLB Manfred Lauterjung Befrachtung, told Al Jazeera in a statement that "the vessel did not load any weapons or any other cargo for the destination Israel".

A second cargo ship that had departed India was denied entry on May 21 to the port of Cartagena. Spanish newspaper El Pais reported that the Marianne Danica left from India's port of Chennai and was en route to Israel's port of Haifa with a cargo of 27 tonnes of explosives. Minister of Foreign Affairs Jose Manuel Albares confirmed in a news conference that the vessel was denied entry on the grounds that it was shipping military cargo to Israel.

On 6 June, following Israel's bombing of a United Nations shelter in Gaza, the Quds News Network released a video of the remains of a missile dropped by Israeli warplanes.

Amid the tangled parts, a label clearly read: "Made in India."

According to SIPRI, the Indian company Premier Explosives Limited makes solid propellants – a significant part of the rocket motors, but not the whole motor – for MRSAM and LRSAM missiles. These are the Indian designations for Barak medium and long-range surface-to-air missiles of Israeli design.

The company's executive director, T Chowdary, admitted to exporting to Israel amid the current war in Gaza, during a conference call on  31 March.

 "We have received the pending revenue from the Israel export order, and this has shown an exponential jump in the revenue of the quarter," he told investors, according to the minutes of the meeting. "We are happy to announce that we have the highest ever quarterly revenue."