Indian Woman Working In Israel Killed By Palestinian Rocket Strike; Mortal Remains To Be Brought To Kerala

The mortal remains of Kerala's Soumya Santhosh will be brought to her home, said relatives and authorities. Union Minister of State for External Affairs V.Muraleedharan informed that all steps are being taken to bring home Soumya's body, which is now kept at a hospital in Bursail, Ashkelon.

Soumya Santosh Image Source (Twitter/@IdoDaniel)

Idukki: On Tuesday, a Keralite woman allegedly lost her life in a Palestinian rocket strike, her family members said. She was working in Israel as a home nurse.

That evening, Soumya was talking to her husband over video call when the rocket fell at her residence in Ashkelon. 

"My brother heard a huge sound during the video call. Suddenly the phone got disconnected. Then we immediately contacted fellow Malayalees working there. Thus we came to know about the incident," Santhosh's brother Saji told PTI.

Soumya, hailing from Keerithodu in Idukki district, had been working as a housemaid in Israel for the last seven years, her relatives said. She has a nine-year-old son whom she had left with her husband in Kerala. According local media reports, her 80-year-old elderly charge is said to have survived the direct hit on the house and is hospitalised in a serious condition. 

There is no official confirmation about the incident so far.

Israel's ambassador to India Ron Malka on Tuesday took to Twitter to condole the Indian woman’s death.

“On behalf of the state of Israel, I convey heartfelt condolences to the family of Ms. Soumya Santosh, murdered by Hamas indiscriminate terror attack on innocent lives. Our hearts are crying with her 9 years old son that lost his mother in this cruel Terrorist attack,” he said in a tweet.

Newly-elected MLA and Nationalist Congress Kerala leader Mani C Kappan condemned the incident. In a Facebook post, Kappan, who is representing Pala seat in the Kerala Assembly, said thousands of Keralites working in Israel were living in fear. He also sought intervention from central and state governments. 

The mortal remains of Kerala's Soumya Santhosh will be brought to her home, said relatives and authorities. Union Minister of State for External Affairs V.Muraleedharan informed that all steps are being taken to bring home Soumya's body, which is now kept at a hospital in Bursail, Ashkelon.