"In Gaza, during the month of Ramadan (March 10-April 9), I sent my special envoy to Israel. He met the Prime Minister of Israel (Benjamin Netanyahu) and told him that we should not carry out the bombing in Gaza during the month of Ramadan," Modi said in an interview to Indian news channel Aaj Tak.

Israel "tried to follow this idea and eventually they fought for two-three days during Ramadan. But I had sent a special envoy," Modi said in the interview that was telecast on Thursday night in Hindi and reported by several media outlets on Friday.

Modi's comments came as the country is in the middle of a general election in which he is seeking a third term as prime minister.

Critics of the prime minister have repeatedly accused him of persecuting and discriminating against religious minorities, especially Muslims, who are India's largest minority group.

"Here I am being accused of doing politics over Muslims, but Modi tried to stop the bombing in Gaza. I do not want any publicity for this," the prime minister said, referring to the ongoing conflict that began on October 7 after an unprecedented barrage of rockets was fired at Israel by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

In power since 2014, Modi has cultivated a warm relationship with Netanyahu and has voiced support for Israel's fight against "terrorism in all its forms", even though India has historically backed the Palestinian cause.

Modi is the central figure of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), India's main right-wing party, and is the overwhelming favourite to win the election that ends on June 1 after more than 40 days of voting.

The next phase of the election takes place on Monday amid a new heatwave, the second in three weeks.

Voters in Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Jharkhand will cast their ballots on Monday when the weather department has forecast a moderate heatwave, with temperatures likely to touch 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit).

India's Election Commission said last month that it had set up a task force to examine the impact of heat and humidity before each phase of voting.

Turnout in the general election so far has been lower than in 2019, with some analysts blaming a "lack of excitement" among voters and others pointing to the heatwave.

A total of 968 million Indian voters are eligible to elect the 543 members of the lower house of parliament, more than the combined population of the United States, the European Union and Russia.

The election began on April 19 and is being held in seven phases, with counting of votes scheduled for June 4 and results due the same day.

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