A 31-year-old woman from Kerala was killed in a rocket strike in Israel on Tuesday as the conflict between the country and Palestinian militant group Hamas escalated, PTI reported.
Soumya, 31, from Kerala’s Idukki district, had been working as a caregiver in Israel since seven years. She was speaking to her husband over a video call when a rocket fell on her house in Ashkelon, situated near Israel’s border with Gaza, according to the news agency.
“My brother heard a huge sound during the video call,” the woman’s brother-in-law told the news agency. “Suddenly the phone got disconnected. Then we immediately contacted fellow Malayalees working there. Thus we came to know about the incident.”
Union minister V Muraleedharan offered his condolences to the woman’s family and assured them of all possible help. “We have condemned these attacks and the violence in Jerusalem, and urged restraint by both sides,” he tweeted.
Spoke with the family of Ms Soumya Santhosh to convey my deep condolences at her tragic demise during the rocket attacks from Gaza today. Assured all possible assistance.
We have condemned these attacks and the violence in Jerusalem, and urged restraint by both sides.
— V. Muraleedharan (@MOS_MEA) May 11, 2021
The woman has a 10-year-old son, according to The Indian Express. She had been planning to return home in two months and had last visited her family two years ago.
At least 35 have been killed in airstrikes in Gaza and five in Israel, according to Reuters.
The violence that erupted on Monday night followed weeks-long tensions in Jerusalem, during which Israeli police attacked Palestinian protesters near the Al-Aqsa Mosque.
