Fearing for her family's safety amid Israeli bombing, an Indian woman residing in Gaza with her family requested an emergency evacuation from the war-torn Hamas-ruled enclave on Tuesday. Speaking with PTI, an Indian from Jammu & Kashmir living in Gaza Lubna Nazir Shaboo stated: “We are facing a brutal war here and everything is being destroyed in bombarded in a matter of seconds. We are paying the price of this conflict as civilians are being targeted."
The Israel-Hamas battle is now on its fourth day, with at least 1,600 people killed on both sides. On the Gaza side, 788 people were killed and 4,100 were wounded.
Following Hamas militants horrific strikes in the Jewish state's southern districts on Saturday morning, backed by a barrage of rockets that touched even the centre portions of the nation, Israeli aeroplanes blasted downtown Gaza City, home to Hamas' centres of governance.
“The sounds of bombardment are too scary and the whole house shakes. It is a very, very scary situation,” Shaboo was quoted by PTI in its report.
Shaboo, who lives in Gaza with her husband, Nedal Toman, and their youngest daughter, Karima, claimed the "water supply was officially cut off" as well as the power. Her two older children live and attend university in Cairo, Egypt.
Internet access in Gaza is likewise limited, with only individuals with limited data packs able to communicate with those outside. Yoav Gallant, Israel's defence minister, authorised a "complete siege" of the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip on Monday.
“I have given an order - Gaza will be under complete siege. There will be no electricity, food or fuel [delivered to Gaza]. We are fighting barbaric [terrorists] and will respond accordingly,” Gallant was quoted by PTI in its report.
The Kashmiri woman stated that she had never seen anything like this before and that they presently have two families living with them who had to flee after being bombarded in Gaza's surrounding borders.
“We are not able to go anywhere because there is no safe place for us anywhere and the Gaza Strip is too small and it is closed from every side. There are no exit points over here,” Lubna said.
“I have already asked for help from the Representative office of India in Ramallah to help me get to a safer place along with my husband and my daughter,” she said in a video message sent to PTI.
The single departure route from Gaza, the Rafah crossing with Egypt, was closed on Monday, thereby blocking all escape routes for Gaza inhabitants.
The Indian Embassy in Ramallah stated that they "are in touch and are trying to help all Indians, but the situation on the ground constrains our options." Furthermore, the Indian embassy in Tel Aviv is actively seeking methods to assist all Indians in the impacted areas.