‘Israel mourning her loss’, says envoy on Soumya Santhosh from Kerala killed in rocket attack

NEW DELHI: Ron Malka, Israel's ambassador to India, on Wednesday morning spoke to the family of Soumya Santhosh, the woman from Kerala killed in a Palestinian rocket strike, to convey his sorrow over her death.

Malka said he had spoken to Santosh's family on behalf of the Israeli government, and added that "the whole country is mourning her loss and we are here for them". He also expressed grief that her nine-year-old-son has lost his mother.

"I just spoke to the family of Soumya Santhosh, the victim of the Hamas terrorist strike. I expressed my sorrow for their unfortunate loss and extended my condolences on behalf of the state of Israel. The whole country is mourning her loss and we are here for them," he tweeted.

I just spoke to the family of Ms. Soumya Santosh, the victim of the Hamas terrorist strike. I expressed my sorrow for their unfortunate loss & extended my condolences on behalf of the state of Israel. The whole country is mourning her loss & we are here for them. pic.twitter.com/btmoewYMSS

— Ron Malka 🇮🇱 (@DrRonMalka) May 12, 2021

The Israel ambassador also tweeted photographs of Soumya with her husband and son.

"My heart goes out to her nine-year-old son, Adon, who has lost his mother at such a young age and will have to grow up without her. This evil attack reminds me of little Moses, who also lost his parents during the 2008 Mumbai attacks. May God give them strength and courage," he added.

Malka was likely referring to Moshe Tzvi Holtzberg - the young boy whose parents were killed during the 26/11 Mumbai attacks. Moshe was then only two-and-half-years old.

Soumya Santhosh, who hails from Idukki, worked as a housemaid in Israel's Asheklon city for the past seven years.

On Tuesday she was talking to her husband, who is in Kerala, via a video call when a rocket - one of hundreds fired by Israeli and Palestinian forces over the past 24 or so hours - struck her residence.

"My brother heard a huge sound during the video call. Suddenly the phone got disconnected. Then we immediately contacted fellow Malayalees working there. Thus we came to know about the incident," Santhosh's brother-in-law, Saji said.

Hostilities between Israel and Hamas have escalated dramatically and tragically, with at least 35 people killed in Gaza and five in Israel in the most intensive aerial exchanges since the 2014 war.

The violence has prompted global concern that it could quickly spiral out of control, particularly at a time when the world should be focused on fighting the COVID-19 pandemic.

UN Middle East peace envoy Tor Wennesland tweeted: "Stop the fire immediately. We're escalating towards a full scale war. Leaders on all sides have to take the responsibility of de-escalation."