NEW DELHI: An Indian national was killed and two more were injured in a missile attack in Israel, prompting the Indian government to urge its citizens working in the border areas of northern and southern Israel to relocate to safer places.
Pat Nibin Maxwell, a 31-year-old resident of Kollam in Kerala, was killed when a missile fired from Lebanon struck an orchard in a collective agricultural community at Galilee in northern Israel on Monday morning. The missile was believed to have been fired by Hezbollah, which has been launching rockets at northern Israel in support of Hamas in the ongoing war in Gaza.
The two injured Indians were identified as Bush Joseph George and Paul Melvin, both from Kerala, and PTI quoted officials as saying that George was taken to a hospital in Petah Tikva with injuries to his face and body, while Melvin, who was slightly injured, was hospitalised in the northern Israeli city of Safed.
There was no immediate word from Indian officials on the casualties. The Indian embassy in Israel, in a post on X, advised Indian nationals, “especially those working in or visiting border areas in the north and south”, to relocate to safer areas within the country. It said the advisory was issued in view of the “prevailing security situation and local safety advisories”.
{{/usCountry}}There was no immediate word from Indian officials on the casualties. The Indian embassy in Israel, in a post on X, advised Indian nationals, “especially those working in or visiting border areas in the north and south”, to relocate to safer areas within the country. It said the advisory was issued in view of the “prevailing security situation and local safety advisories”.
{{/usCountry}}“The Embassy remains in touch with the Israeli authorities to ensure the safety of all our nationals,” the post said.
Maxwell reportedly arrived in Israel two months ago and was working on a farm at the time of the attack. He is survived by a five-year-old daughter and his pregnant wife, his relatives said.
The Israeli embassy in India, in a post on X, said it was “deeply shocked and saddened” by the death of an Indian national and the injury of two others due to a “cowardly terror attack” launched by Hezbollah on peaceful agriculture workers at an orchard in a northern village.
“Our prayers and thoughts naturally go to the families of the bereaved and those of the injured. Israeli medical institutions are completely at the service of the injured who are being treated by our very best medical staff. Israel regards equally all nationals, Israeli or foreign, who are injured or killed due to terrorism,” the post said.