Embassy warning after attack on border with Lebanon in which an Indian worker was killed.
The Indian Embassy in Israel has advised its citizens to move to safe areas in Israel’s border areas after an Indian citizen was killed in a missile attack near the border with Lebanon.
An alert posted on the embassy’s X account on Tuesday advertised helplines offering more advice to citizens. Thousands of Indian workers have been recruited to replace Palestinians barred from entering Israel since the start of the war in Gaza.
The advisory stated that the embassy was in contact with Israeli authorities “to ensure the safety of all our citizens” following the death on Monday.
📢 *Important Advice for Indian Nationals in Israel* pic.twitter.com/Fshw7zcbmj
— Israel in India (@indemtel) March 5, 2024
The death of the Indian was confirmed in a statement issued by the Israeli Embassy in New Delhi on Thursday.
The attack, which the embassy claimed was carried out by Hezbollah, killed workers planting a garden in the Israeli village of Margaliot. Two other Indians were injured, along with at least five other foreign workers.
The Indian Express newspaper identified the dead man as a 31-year-old from Kekulangara in the southern Indian state of Kerala. He reportedly went to Israel two months ago to work on a farm in Margaliot.
We are deeply shocked and appalled at the death of an Indian national and injuries to two others in a cowardly terrorist attack by the Shia terrorist organization Hezbollah on peaceful agricultural laborers who were cultivating gardens in the northern village of Margaliot. were…
— Israel in India (@IsraelinIndia) March 5, 2024
Israeli construction companies have reportedly requested that the government in Tel Aviv allow them to hire 100,000 Indian workers to replace Palestinians whose work licenses were suspended after the Gaza offensive began in October.
Al Jazeera reported in January that tens of thousands of Indians were queuing up to apply for job advertisements.
The apparent success of the recruitment drive has belied Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s claim that India is becoming a global economic power on the back of booming domestic product (GDP).
Modi developed a warm relationship with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu as he began his premiership in 2014 in the world’s most populous country.
The Hindu nationalist government has stood behind Israel amid the war on Gaza, ending decades of support for the Palestinian cause.
The conflict has become a flashpoint for sectarianism in India, with right-wing social media accounts stoking local anti-Muslim sentiment and spreading fake news beyond its borders.