Keralites on their toes as Israel-Hamas war escalates

On Saturday, Sincy Davis (name changed), a Malayali caregiver, was hurrying along the aisle of her building when air-raid sirens sounded at Sderot in the Southern District of Israel.

A few seconds after she entered the neighbouring building, where she was summoned by her employer, an elderly Israeli woman, the apartment building was hit by a rocket fired by the Hamas militant group from Gaza. 

A voice clip sent by Sincy, accessed by The Hindu, reveals the grave situation in the south and parts of central Israel where bodies of Israelis could be seen on the street after the rocket attacks. This is one of the worst attacks in the recent history of Israel, she says, quoting her employer.

Borgian Solomon, a native of Kollam who migrated to Israel in 2008, says people, including foreigners, have taken shelter in ‘strongrooms’ under buildings after hundreds of Hamas militants infiltrated Israel in SUVs, motorcycles, and paragliders and indiscriminately opened fire at civilians.

No reports of casualties among Indians have been reported until evening. However, the situation will not be the same if the war between Israel and Hamas escalates further, according to the Indians who stay there.

Since a good number of Indians are employed there without documents, the actual number of Indians in Israel is higher than the official estimates. According to statistics available with the NoRKA Roots, the field agency of the Department of Non-Resident Keralites, around 489 people have recently migrated to Israel after registering with NoRKA.

Israeli soldiers take positions in Sderot, Israel, on Saturday, Oct. 7. 2023. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared Israel “at war” after Gaza Strip militants fired over 2,000 missiles and infiltrated southern parts of the country, killing an estimated 22 Israelis, in a surprise attack early Saturday. Photographer: Kobi Wolf/Bloomberg (Source: KOBI WOLF)

But it is estimated that around 7,000-8,000 Keralites alone are in Israel of the roughly estimated 25,000 Indians there.

“We are in touch with the Indian embassy in Israel. All Indians were asked to download the Home Front Command’s app, which provides real-time life-saving alerts, guidelines, and information on a variety of threats in Israel. Every building in Israel has a strongroom. So people are told to shift to strongrooms in their building or public shelters,” NoRKA Roots Chief Executive Officer K. Harikrishnan Namboothiri said.