Gujaratis in war-struck Israel anxious to return home

Updated: Oct 11th, 2023

Israel Conflict (img: IANS)

The Israel-Palestine conflict that has taken over the world makes its way to Gujarat, through the plights of thousands of Gujaratis living in war-torn Israel.

A few of Gujaratis share their plights of living in the war-torn land, each day under the echoing sirens and rattling blasts.

They now await their way back home to Gujarat, away from the deadly war.

“We will live in fear until all the terrorists are killed”

Shankar Patel hails from Rajasthan’s Dungarpur and currently resides in Petah-Tikvah, which is 10 km from Israel’s financial capital, Tel Aviv.

Shankar lives with Sandeep and Dev Bhatia from Ahmedabad, alongside Kishan, Kacharu, and Lokesh Patel, also from Rajasthan.

All of them have been working as caretakers in Israel.



When contacted on Oct 8, Shankar described the war situation, “Not a single rocket has fallen in our city. Today is the second day that the situation inside Israel is under control, but a terrible war is going on in the border areas.”

“The number of Indians in Ashkelon near the southern border is large, but there is no news that any Indian has been killed or abducted so far,” Shankar says, amid the growing concern over Indians in Israel.

He added, “The worst-affected border area, Ashkelon, is 68 km from our city. Although it is far from here, the government has instructed everyone to stay indoors.”

Talking about the safety measures, Shankar said, “Bunkers are made in every house here. There is always a possibility of being hit by a rocket. We immediately rush to the bunkers as soon as we hear the siren sounds.”

Shankar shares that the biggest concern is that,“Hamas terrorists have infiltrated Israel in large numbers and are breaking into our homes. We will naturally remain in fear until the government declares that all the terrorists have been killed.”

“We want to return to Gujarat”

“I have been living in Israel for the last 9 years, but I have never seen such terrible attacks. I feel very scared,” said Rita Frances Macwan, an Anand native and who currently works as a caretaker in Israel’s Nahariya city.

Much like Shankar, Rita highlighted her fear, “Our city is 175 kms from the Gaza border, so there is not much effect of the war here. But the fear of Hamas terrorists infiltrating Israel is increasing.”



Talking about the situation around her, she said, “All the people here are scared. There might be more than 1,000 Gujaratis in Israel at present. We are now looking to return to Gujarat and are awaiting the flights to resume.”

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