Indian national from Kerala killed, 2 others injured in anti-tank missile attack in Israel: Report

An Indian national from Kerala was killed and another two were injured on Monday after an anti-tank missile fired from Lebanon struck an orchard near Israel’s northern border community of Margaliot, news agency PTI reported citing officials.

Zaki Heller, a spokesperson for rescue services Magen David Adom, (MDA) told the news agency that the missile hit a plantation in Margaliot, a moshav (collective agricultural community), in the Galilee region in the north of Israel around 11am on Monday.

Who are the Indians?

Patnibin Maxwell from Kollam in Kerala was killed in the missile attack. His mortal remains were identified in Ziv hospital, PTI quoted official sources saying.

Bush Joseph George and Paul Melvin were injured and taken to hospitals for treatment, they said. “George was taken to the Beilinson hospital in Petah Tikva after suffering injuries on face and body. He underwent an operation, is recovering well, and has been kept under observation. He could speak with his family in India,” an official source told PTI.

Melvin was also hospitalised at Ziv Hospital in the northern Israeli city of Safed with slight injuries. He is from the Idukki district of Kerala.

Earlier, MDA had said that one foreign worker was killed and seven others were injured in the attack.

Who fired the missile?

PTI reported that the attack is believed to have been carried out by the Shia Hezbollah faction in Lebanon, which has been launching rockets, missiles, and drones at northern Israel daily since October 8 in support of Hamas amid the ongoing war in the Gaza Strip.

MDA said seven foreign workers were injured altogether in the attack, two of them seriously, and were taken to Beilinson, Rambam, and Ziv hospitals in their ambulances and Israeli Air Force helicopters.

Israel forces respond

The Israel Defence Forces (IDF), meanwhile, on Monday said it responded by shelling the launch site with artillery.

The IDF also said it struck a Hezbollah compound where members of the group were gathered in the southern Lebanon town of Chihine, and another site belonging to Hezbollah in Ayta ash-Shab.

Hezbollah has been launching attacks on Israel’s northern communities and military posts since October 8 saying it is doing so to support Gaza.