A recent rocket attack by Gaza-based militants in Israel left at least 31 people dead and several others injured.
A 31-year-old Indian woman was among those killed in the attack in the southern Israeli coastal city of Ashkelon.
Soumya Santhosh hailed from Kerala’s Idukki district and worked as a caregiver to an elderly woman in Israel. She had been there for 7 years while her husband and son lived in Kerala.
The rocket apparently fell on her residence while she was talking to her husband Santhosh over a video call in the evening.
Santhosh’s brother told PTI:
My brother heard a huge sound during the video call. Suddenly the phone got disconnected. Then we immediately contacted fellow Malayalis working there. Thus, we came to know about the incident.
Soumya and the 80-year-old elderly woman could not reach the shelter, that was a minute’s run away from their house, in time. While the elderly woman survived and is in critical condition, Soumya unfortunately did not make it.
Israel’s ambassador to India Ron Malka also took to Twitter to condole Soumya’s death.
Netizens condemned the attack and prayed for the departed soul.
As violence continues in the region, thousands of Indians, especially from the southern state of Kerala are living in constant fear.