Kerala woman killed in rocket attack in Israel

A WOMAN from Kerala was killed on Tuesday in a rocket attack in the Israeli city of Ashkelon, where she has been working as a caregiver. She was identified as Soumya, 31, a native of Kanjikuzhy panchayat in Kerala’s Idukki district.

According to her family friends, the incident happened when Soumya was talking to her husband Santhosh over the phone. “Santhosh heard his wife screaming all of a sudden while she was speaking. There was loud noise and the call got disconnected,” said panchayat member Tinsy Thomas.

“Later, one of Soumya’s relatives, who is also working in the same city as a caregiver, was informed about the rocket attack. She went to the house where Soumya worked as a caregiver and confirmed her death,” said Thomas.

Soumya, who has a 10-year-old son, has been working as a caregiver in Israel for the past 10 years and she last visited her family in Kerala two years ago. She was planning to return to Kerala two months later.