Body Of Soumya Santosh To Reach Kerala On May 15

The body of Soumya Santosh, a Kerala woman who was killed in Israel on May 11 will be brought back to Idukki, Kerala on May 15.

Minister of State for External Affairs V Muraleedharan said that the body of Soumya Santosh is being returned from Israel to Kerala via New Delhi. In his tweet, he added that he would be personally receiving the remains in Delhi.

The mortal remains of Ms Soumya Santhosh, who was killed in rocket attacks from Gaza, are being repatriated today from Israel to Kerala through Delhi. They will reach her native place tomorrow.

I will personally be receiving the remains in Delhi.

May her soul rest in peace.

— V. Muraleedharan (@MOS_MEA) May 14, 2021

On May 12, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said that they were in touch with the Indian Embassy in Israel to ensure that the body of Soumya Santosh was brought back to Kerala. She is survived by her 9-year-old son and her husband.

Santosh was a caretaker who was killed after a rocket struck the house of the 80-year-old woman she was looking after. Both of them lost their lives due to the airstrikes in Israel. Santosh was on a video call with her husband when the rocket struck. According to her brother-in-law, the phone got disconnected and they reached out to other Malayalees in Israel. He added that with the help of Dean Kuriakose, they contacted the embassy and arrangements to bring her body home were made.

Santosh’s sister-in-law, who also works in Israel said she rushed over the house as soon as she heard what happened. She said that the “mortar landed on the house” and added that the entire building had been destroyed.

The Israeli ambassador to India Ron Malka said in a tweet that “On behalf of the state of Israel, I convey heartfelt condolences to the family of Ms Soumya Santosh.”

On May 13, Israel’s Deputy Envoy Ron Yedidia Clein said that the embassy in Tel Aviv was making arrangements to have the body of Soumya Santosh flown back to India. Clein also added that Santosh’s family would be looked after by Israeli authorities, in compensation for their loss.