KADAKKAL: 'Hearing the loud explosion, we rushed to the shelter. Again the deafening sound of missiles landing several times. For two hours I was terrified inside the shelter," said Gopika Shibu, an MSc Agriculture and Biotechnology student who had just returned from Israel.

The Beersheba area, where Gopika lives, sounded a siren at around 6 a.m. on Saturday, signalling an attack. However, no one was concerned as there have been no recent attacks. Everyone took shelter in the shelters when the sirens sounded again and the screams were heard. Traffic and daily life returned to normal on Saturday. Gopika decided to return home due to the insistence of her family.

Gopika, a student at the Ben Gurion University in Beersheba reached Israel a year ago. She is the eldest daughter of Shibu, a resident of Chithara in Kollam. She reached Kochi airport yesterday as part of the central government's Operation Ajay. Following the war, Gopika's next semester has been postponed to November.