The Israel-Hamas war was triggered after Hamas terrorists, who rule the Gaza Strip, on Saturday morning launched thousands of rockets and sent fighters across the border in an unprecedented incursion reminiscent of Israel’s 1948 War of Independence.

Thiruvananthapuram: Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Tuesday wrote to External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar expressing concerns over the safety of Indians in Israel and sought the Centre’s intervention to secure 7,000 Keralites currently in that country. “A good number of them, around 7,000, are from Kerala. The continuing hostilities are putting these civilians to extreme hardships and their family members are in a state of extreme anxiety. I request your good self to intervene in every possible way to ensure the safety of our citizens in Israel,” wrote Vijayan.

Incidentally, Israel is also home to numerous nurses from various parts of Kerala. Sheeja Anand, a Kannur-native working as a caregiver in Israel, was injured in the Hamas attack the other day. Apart from students and professionals hailing from Kerala, tourists too are stranded in the war-hit land. In 2021, Soumya Santhosh, a native of Idukki, was killed in a rocket attack in Israel.

An anxious husband of a Kerala nurse in Israel told IANS about the growing tensions.

Israel-Hamas War

The Israel-Hamas war was triggered after Hamas terrorists, who rule the Gaza Strip, on Saturday morning launched thousands of rockets and sent fighters across the border in an unprecedented incursion reminiscent of Israel’s 1948 War of Independence.

The violence, which has claimed more than 1,600 lives from both the Israel and Palestine sides, has prompted international declarations of support for Israel, along with appeals for an end to the fighting and protection of civilians.

We will finish the war, says PM Benjamin Netanyahu

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Tuesday made it clear that his country will finish the war that was forced upon it by the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas. Making a strong video statement, Netanyahu said, ‘Israel is at war. We didn’t want this war. It was forced upon us in the most brutal and savage way. But though Israel didn’t start this war, Israel will finish it.’

The Hamas terrorists, who control the Gaza Strip, blasted tens of thousands of missiles and deployed soldiers across the border on Saturday morning in an unprecedented assault that was reminiscent of Israel’s 1948 War of Independence.