Mumbai: Shiv Sena (UBT) leader Sanjay Raut has said he did not mean to hurt Israel with his X post where he reportedly said that “the lack of humanity that they are demonstrating now that a leader back in the day (Adolf Hitler) opposed them,” ANI reported.

Raut’s response comes after he was called out by the Israel Embassy over his "anti-semitic" post and massive backlash on X for allegedly justifying the Holocaust.

Speaking to ANI on Saturday, Sanjay Raut said, "It's been a long time since I shared that post on X. I have since deleted it. I did make a reference to Hitler in my post but had no intention to hurt Israel."

He claimed that he had condemned the surprise rocket attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7 in which at least 1200 individuals were killed, several were taken hostage and many people were injured. In the same vein, he had also criticised Israel’s counterattack in Gaza.

According to Health Ministry run by Hamas in Gaza, over 14,000 people, including over 5,000 children have lost their lives in the counter-attack by Israeli forces.

"I did criticise and condemn the way Hamas attacked southern Israel and took innocent lives. In the same breath, however, I also condemned the way Gaza hospitals were attacked, killing newborns and children, and their essential supplies blocked. I believe children shouldn't be targeted during a war," he said, according to ANI.

"I said what was happening was inhumane. I did say as well that it is because of the lack of humanity that they are demonstrating now that a leader back in the day (Adolf Hitler) opposed them," the Sena (UBT) leader said.

He claimed that “someone” must have prompted the Israeli envoy to “oppose” his post as the letter condemning the letter came after nearly a month of his post.

"It was only after a month that the Israel Embassy in India wrote to me over the post. I feel someone may have prompted them to write to me," he claimed.

The Israeli Embassy wrote a strongly-worded letter to the External Affairs Ministry and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla expressing disappointment and dismay over Sanjay Raut's post, said the ANI report.