Soumya Santosh Body: Kerala's chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan assured on Wednesday that Soumya Santosh's body would be brought back to Kerala.
"We are in touch with the Indian Embassy in Israel to ensure that the mortal remains of Soumya Santhosh who was killed in Israel is brought back to Kerala & handed over to her family as soon as possible," he said.
We are in touch with the Indian Embassy in Israel to ensure that the mortal remains of Soumya Santhosh who was killed in Israel is brought back to Kerala & handed over to her family as soon as possible: Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan
— ANI (@ANI) May 12, 2021
Soumya Santosh was on a video call with her husband when the rocket fell
Soumya Santosh was an Indian woman who was killed after a rocket struck the house of an elderly woman in the Southern Israeli coastal city of Ashkelon. She was working as a caregiver and was attending to the 80-year-old woman. The latter too lost her life due to the ongoing airstrikes in Israel.
Soumya Santosh was on a video call with her husband who was in Kerala when the rocket fell. His brother said that the phone immediately got disconnected, and that they immediately reached out to other Malayalees who are working there.
Santosh who hails from Keerithodu in Kerala's Idukki district was working as a housemaid in Israel for the last seven years. She was last seen in Kerala in 2017, and was the daughter of former Kanjikuzhy panchayat member Satish and Savithri.
Ron Malka, the Israeli ambassador to India condoled the woman's death on his official Twitter handle. "I just spoke to the family of 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," he added in his tweet. Malka also condemned the attack by Hamas and offered condolences to Santosh's 9-year-old son who lost his mother.
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
Kerala's newly-elected MLA Mani C Kappan had earlier said that many Keralites in Israel were living in fear.