A nurse hailing from Kerala, India, who has been employed in Israel, was reportedly injured during an attack orchestrated by the Palestinian extremist organization, Hamas, while she was engaged in a video call with her husband residing in India.
The nurse in question, Sheeja Anand, aged 41, who has spent the past seven years working in Israel, initially communicated with her family, assuring them of her safety when Hamas executed a surprise and unprecedented attack on the country during the early hours of Saturday.
Following this initial contact, she made another video call to her husband, but the conversation was abruptly terminated with the intrusion of a harrowing, deafening noise in the background.
"In the middle of the conversation, the call got disconnected and thereafter, we could not reach her for several hours. Later in the evening, some of her colleagues informed us that she was injured in the attack, and her phone got displaced," revealed Sheeja's sister in an interview with TV channels.
On Sunday afternoon, the family was relieved to see Sheeja in a hospital bed. She reportedly communicated to her mother, saying, "Amma, I am okay."
Subsequently, the family received information that she had sustained injuries and had to undergo surgery. It was determined that she would be transferred to another hospital for an additional surgical procedure.
"I barely got to see her face for a short time. Thereafter, there was no information. Then yesterday night, we were informed by her colleagues that she was being shifted to another hospital for spinal surgery. I thought only her hands and legs were injured. Now even her spine is injured," her sister said emotionally.
Notably, Sheeja's husband and their two children are currently residing in India, with the husband working in Pune.
Simultaneously, more than 200 individuals from Kerala are reportedly stranded in a hotel located in Bethlehem and are confirmed to be in safe condition. According to Joy, one of the members of this group, they had just heard air raid sirens while attending a mass event, as reported by the Malayalam newspaper Mathrubhumi.
Instructions have been issued to the group, advising them to remain at the hotel in Bethlehem, despite their initial plans to depart for Egypt on Monday.
Furthermore, an additional 45 individuals from Kochi are said to be stranded in a hotel in Palestine. Fortunately, the group is safe and has been granted permission to cross the border, as per reports by Mathrubhumi.
The Indian Ambassador to Israel, along with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, has been duly informed of the ongoing situation in Israel.
The attack on Israel took place unexpectedly and was characterized by its unprecedented scale, involving actions through the air, land, and sea by Hamas, the ruling entity in the Gaza Strip. This assault prompted a retaliatory response from Israel, resulting in a three-day conflict that has tragically led to the loss of over 1,100 lives on both sides. Of these casualties, more than 700 have occurred in Israel, which includes 44 soldiers.
Consequently, Israel initiated a counteroffensive aimed at eradicating Hamas' strongholds within the Gaza Strip. The country has continued its offensive operations in the region, even as some Hamas infiltrators engaged in skirmishes with the Israeli military in southern Israel.
It is worth mentioning that approximately 18,000 Indian nationals are currently residing and working in Israel, with no reports of adverse incidents involving them thus far, according to sources cited by news agency PTI.
To address the situation, advisories have been issued by the Indian Mission in Tel Aviv and the Representative Office of India in Palestine. These advisories recommend that Indian nationals residing on the respective sides should "remain vigilant" and "directly contact the Office" in the event of an emergency.
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