KANNUR: The Israel-Hamas conflict is transcending to a grotesque phase with thousands of people including innocent children getting decapitated in the melee. Israel has deployed lakhs of army members on the Gaza border and looks confident to cross the demarcation line into Gaza at any moment. But how many people know about the Israel army’s connection with the small district of Kannur in Kerala?

For years, it has been a group of weavers in Kannur who provided uniforms to the Israeli police fighting for life and death on the battlefield against Hamas. Kannur-based Marian Apparel has been exporting uniforms to the Israeli police for the past few years. The company provides one lakh uniforms in a year. Apart from Israel, Marian Apparel supplies uniforms to the armed forces of other countries around the world.

Marian Apparel MD Thomas Olikal in his chitchat with the online portal Open Digest said that they have been supplying uniforms to the Israeli police since 2015.

'We are busy sending a new batch of cargo to Israel. Apart from Israel, we supply the uniforms of government departments in Middle Eastern countries like Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar,' said Thomas Olikal.

In 2015, a representative of the Israeli police visited the Kannur factory. The apparel company won the contract to supply the uniforms when Israel was convinced of the quality standards followed in manufacturing the uniforms. Marian Apparel operates in an industrial park located in Valiyavelicham, Kannur. Marian Apparel supplies uniforms to Kuwait's National Guard and Fire Brigade. The company also used to supply trousers to the Israeli police but now a Chinese company has won the contract.

Marian Apparel also supplies uniforms to the Philippines military, and health workers in the UK, Germany, Qatar and Saudi Arabia. There are 900 employees here.