TEL AVIV (AsiaNews/Agencies): The violent incursion of Hamas militants from Gaza into Israel has also impacted Asian families who are among those mourning the dead and anxious for missing loved ones. It is no coincidence: the agricultural settlements of southern Israel are one of the areas where the work of migrants arriving from the Far East is most concentrated.
Migrants often talk about the harsh working conditions imposed by one of the most restrictive legislation in the world: they have residence permits strictly linked to temporary work contracts, without any possibility of gaining Israeli citizenship. Yet they too were treated as “collaborators”, without any mercy by the Hamas militants.
Two deaths have been confirmed so far by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangkok, but according to various sources, including Israeli employers, there are a dozen in total, to which should be added eight injured, two of whom are serious and 11 kidnapped.
The Thai government announced that it has made a military aircraft available for a possible airlift to bring home those citizens who work in the conflict zone close to the Gaza Strip in Ashkelon, Netivot and Sderot. In total, it is estimated that as many as 5,000 of the almost 30,000 workers originally from Thailand employed in Israel lived in the area.
The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs reported that it had received calls from 937 healthcare workers stationed in hospitals in Israel and the Gaza Stri
The number of victims from Nepal is also very high. According to news released by the Nepalese embassy in Tel Aviv, there are as many as 10 Nepalese victims, mostly agricultural workers who worked in the Amunim kibbutz, one of those attacked on October 7.
Two other Nepalese have been hospitalised in serious condition, while others who are missing could be among the people kidnapped and taken into the Gaza Strip. In total, there are approximately 4,500 Nepalese citizens currently in Israel.
The story is also being followed with great concern in India, another country that has a significant number of its own emigrant workers in the area affected by Hamas incursions.
The Filipino community, which also has around 30,000 migrant workers in Israel many of whom work as carers for the elderly, is also highly apprehensive. The Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs reported that it had received calls from 937 healthcare workers stationed in hospitals in Israel and the Gaza Strip.
The foreign affairs department also said that some workers were beig held hostage.
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Finally, it should be noted that Noa Argamani, the young Israeli citizen kidnapped during the rave party in the desert and whose video went viral in the first hours of the attack, was born in China: her mother still lives in the People’s Republic of China.
“We ask the interested parties to remain calm, exercise moderation and immediately end hostilities to protect civilians and avoid a further deterioration of the situation,” China’s Foreign Ministry wrote in a note.
