Indian Students Stuck In Israel Share Their Plight: ‘Very Nervous And Scared’
Indian students stuck in Israel amid the Hamas militant group attacks on the country shared their plight even as the Indian embassies in Israel and Palestine issued advisories for all its citizens to “remain vigilant”.
According to the students, while they are in constant touch with the Indian embassy, they feel extremely nervous and scared as the situation is “very tense”.
“I am very nervous and scared…Thankfully we have shelter and Israeli police forces nearby. So far, we are safe…We are in touch with Indian embassy people, we have a good Indian community around and we are connected,” an Indian student in Israel Gokul Manavalan told news agency ANI.
Another student Vimal Krishnasamy Manivannan Chitra said the attack was “very tense and scary”. “Indian embassy is in touch with us in the group. They are keeping a check on us,” he added.
Sharing his situation at the moment the attack was launched, a student Aditya Karunanithi Nivedita said, “It was all very sudden we did not expect it, because there are religious holidays in Israel going on. We got the sirens early in the morning at around 5:30am. We were in bunkers for around 7-8 hours the sirens went off…We are asked to stay inside our homes.”
According to a student studying at the Hebrew University in Israel, they are staying in dorms and accommodations are being provided by the college.
An Indian national working in Israel for the past 18 years, Soma Ravi, told news agency PTI: “Today was a very difficult day, we have never seen a situation (like this). Within 20 minutes, 5,000 rockets were fired, and they (Hamas militants) killed 22 people while 500 were injured. This is a very difficult situation for the country.”
In an unprecedented surprise attack on Saturday morning, dozens of Hamas militants broke out of the blockaded Gaza Strip and into nearby Israeli towns, killing and abducting several people. According to the latest data by the Israeli media, at least 300 people have been killed, while over 1,500 have been wounded in one of the deadliest attacks. Meanwhile, at least 232 people in the Gaza Strip have been killed and around 1,700 wounded in Israeli strikes, the Palestinian health ministry said.
Reportedly, the Hamas military commander Muhammad Al-Deif called the attack ‘operation Al-Aqsa Storm’ and said that the assault on Israel was a response to attacks on women, the desecration of the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, and the ongoing siege of Gaza.
Indian embassies issue advisory
The Indian embassy in Jerusalem and the Representative Office of India in Palestine on Saturday issued advisories asking Indian nationals in respective countries to “remain vigilant” and “directly contact the Office” in case of emergency.
“In view of the current situation in Israel, all Indian nationals in Israel are requested to remain vigilant and observe safety protocols as advised by local authorities. Please exercise caution, avoid unnecessary movement, and stay close to safety shelters,” the Embassy said in its advisory – issued in English, Hindi, Marathi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Kannada languages.
The advisory also gave relevant phone numbers in case of emergency and also provided URLs for Israeli Home Front Command and Preparedness brochures.
According to the details on the embassy’s website, there are about 18,000 Indian citizens in Israel, primarily caregivers employed by Israeli elders, diamond traders, IT professionals, and students. Meanwhile, there are also approximately 85,000 Jews of Indian origin in Israel who were part of the main waves of immigration into Israel from India in the fifties and sixties.