Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu picked up the phone this weekend to personally thank the man credited with saving 174 lives. 'You are a hero for Israel, India, and the entire world,' Netanyahu told Captain Smit Machchhar, the Indian pilot who was stabbed mid-flight by his own co-pilot during an alleged attempt to crash flydubai Flight FZ1073 on its way from Dubai to Tel Aviv. Despite his injuries, Machchhar managed to reach the cockpit door release, allowing the Emirati crew and passengers to overpower the attacker and bring the plane safely down in Tabuk, Saudi Arabia. During the emotional call, Netanyahu asked Machchhar how the attack began, and the pilot described his co-pilot abruptly turning violent after what seemed like a moment of prayer, an account that left Netanyahu saying he was 'amazed' at the pilot's composure under what he called impossible conditions.

The gesture didn't stop at words. Netanyahu extended an extraordinary invitation, asking Machchhar and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to light a flame at Israel's next Independence Day ceremony, an honor he noted is normally reserved for Israeli citizens. 'I think here in this case, all the citizens of Israel will embrace you,' Netanyahu told him, promising a hero's welcome whenever he's able to visit. Modi himself had already publicly praised Machchhar as a hero in the hours after the incident, and India's ambassador to the UAE met with the pilot's family to offer the government's full support. For a story that began with a knife, blood, and a plane full of terrified passengers, it's ending with two world leaders racing to honor the man who kept everyone alive.