Israel in state of war
While the Indian embassies in Israel and Palestine issued warnings for all of their people to “remain vigilant,” Indian students trapped in Israel during the attacks on the country by the Hamas militant group expressed their suffering. The students claim that despite being in frequent contact with the Indian embassy, they are exceedingly frightened and anxious because the situation is “very tense.”
Indian Students in Israel: “I am very nervous and scared…”
“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.
The attack was “very tense and scary,” according to Vimal Krishnasamy Manivannan Chitra, a different student. “The Indian embassy is in contact with our organization. They are monitoring us, he continued.
It was all unexpected
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.” A student at the Hebrew University in Israel claims that the college is providing housing and that they are living in dorms.
An Indian national working in Israel for the past 18 years, Soma Ravi, told news agency: “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.”
Also Read: State Of War In Gaza As Israel Shoots 5000 Missiles In The Area
Attack on Israel
On Saturday morning, scores of Hamas militants launched an extraordinary surprise strike, breaking through the blockaded Gaza Strip and into surrounding Israeli communities, where they killed and kidnapped many people. In one of the deadliest attacks, at least 300 people have died and more than 1,500 have been injured, according to the most recent numbers provided by Israeli media. Israeli airstrikes in the meantime claimed at least 232 lives in the Gaza Strip and injured almost 1,700 others, according to the Palestinian health ministry.
According to reports, the attack on Israel was dubbed “operation Al-Aqsa Storm” by the military leader of Hamas, Muhammad Al-Deif, who also claimed that it was a retaliation for assaults on women, the destruction of the al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, and the continued siege of Gaza.
