Tel Aviv, Oct. 10 -- Israeli President Isaac Herzog on Saturday (local time) praised Indian pilot Captain Smit Machchhar for his courage in averting a potential catastrophe aboard a flydubai flight on September 30 and announced that he would confer Israel's Presidential Award for Civilian Heroism on him following his recovery.

In a post shared on X, Herzog described Machchhar as a hero of Israel, India and humanity, and said he looked forward to welcoming the pilot to Jerusalem once he regained his strength.

"Captain Smit Machchhar, you are a hero of Israel, India, and all of humanity! In my letter to you which you received over the weekend, I shared our prayers for your full and speedy recovery," Herzog said.

"As I wrote in my letter,...