She was going to book tickets for first visit in two years, says family of Kerala woman killed in Israel

Soumya with husband Santosh and son Adon

Mummy will call me," says Adon, 10, as he plays in the courtyard of his grandparents' Kerala house, still unaware about the demise of his mother in Israel. Soumya was on a video call with her husband from her employer's home in the Israeli city of Ashkelon when suddenly a missile struck the residence, killing her.

Soumya, 32, who hailed from Keerithodu village in Idukki district, was working as a caregiver in Israel. Her husband, Santosh, 38, rents out a crane he owns for film shootings and that is his only source of income. Before moving to Israel, Soumya was a peon at a cooperative bank in Idukki. Three years after their marriage, Soumya, inspired by her four sisters-in-law who were all living in Israel at the time, went to the Middle Eastern country.

Their younger sister Sanipriya (28), returned from Israel, for her delivery a few months ago and delivered a boy, last week.

Soumya's brother Sijesh, 34, who drives an auto, said, "We still can't believe our ears. It happened so suddenly. When we spoke last, Soumya was excited about returning to Kerala. She had last come home in 2019. But instead of welcoming her this time, we will be receiving her casket." He added that Soumya "was saving money, hoping to build her dream house one day and had even purchased a plot a few years ago. It was close to our house. She was even supporting the family."

Sijesh, Soumya's brother

"Adon is too young, and is yet to realise the loss of his mother. We do not know how he will react to seeing his mother in the casket. He is still waiting for a phone call from her, to speak with her, like always," Sijesh said. My brother-in-law is yet to come out of shock; he was speaking to Soumya when it all happened.

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‘She fell silent'

Speaking to mid-day from Idukki, Santosh said, "The previous day (Monday), we were on a video call and Soumya stepped out of the house to show me the missiles flying over their house. She said she was scared. Since she and Naomi Perlman, 80, [her employer] were living alone, I advised her to inform her children and to shift to a safer location."

On Tuesday afternoon (Israel time), I was again talking to Soumya on a video call. She told me that she was waiting for Perlman's daughter to pick them up. "Soumya was expecting her in the next five minutes. She said she was having lunch, and then she would get ready. During our call, I could also hear the siren and suddenly, Soumya fell silent, but the video call was on. I heard a huge bang, which still rings in my ears. I called out for Sowmya, but there was no response. Next, I saw several men rushing inside the house. I feared for the worst and called up my sister, Sherly, who is in Israel, and asked her to rush to Soumya. She soon informed me that she was no more."

The family has appealed to the government to help them bring home her mortal remains at the earliest. "My brother has no job and his only source of income is the crane. Anod is too young. We worry how they will cope," said Bindhu, Santosh's other sister who has been living in Kerala since returning from Israel a few years ago.

"The shelling has been on for the past four days, and is happening at this very moment as we speak," said Sherly Benny, 47, from Ashdod city, a 20-minute drive from Ashkelon where Soumya stayed. Benny is also a caregiver. "Every time a missile is detected and destroyed, a siren goes off, alerting the public to rush to a secured place in their home or in the locality. I have been here for the past 12 years and this is the first time I am witnessing it firsthand," she told mid-day.

The ruins of the house where Soumya worked

"I rushed to Ashkelon soon after Santosh called me, only to find police and ambulance there. The entire house was damaged. The Israeli police spoke to me and later I visited the mortuary, where Soumya's body was kept for repatriation to Kerala."

"I learnt through my employer that during the missile firing, there was some technical glitch for 10 minutes and the Iron Dome battery, a defence system that intercepts and destroys the missile in air, did not function at Ashkelon. This was around 3.30 pm when Soumya was having her lunch in a room adjacent to where the bomb dropped," Sherly said.

Sherly said she visited the house again on Wednesday, along with the Perlman family. "Naomi has sustained multiple splinter wounds and both her legs were amputated and continues to be in ICU... I couldn't control my emotion when I saw Soumya's lunch plate. She was still eating when death came knocking. I pulled out a few handbags and luggage belonging to Soumya."

Sherly went on, "We used to speak almost daily. On Easter, Soumya had come to stay with me. Like majority Keralities, who used to come to a foreign land, with dreams of supporting families and loved ones back home in Kerala, Soumya too, was looking forward for her vacation to Kerala between June to August, depending on availability of ticket and Covid-19 situation in Kerala (Israel has overcome COVDI-19 and people have been given relaxation to move without mask). Soumay was to mark her wedding anniversary on May 31."

"The Isareli government and people at large are concerned about our (Indians) safety, and have always been taking good care of Indians who work as caregivers here. A large number of Malayalees from Kerala are now shifting to Israel, especially staff nurses, which is at present a basic requirement for getting a job in Israel. As per the rule here, 80 per cent of the caregivers' monthly salary (R1.20 lakhs) is paid by the Israel government and the family has to bear the remaining 20 per cent, along with lodging."

"I would appeal to both Indian government and authorities in Israel to provide all support to dispatch Soumya's body back to Kerala at the earliest. We are anticipating the Ben Gurion International airport is at present shut due to the ongoing shelling and there are no direct flights to India at this moment. We are hoping that by next Tuesday (May 17) there may be a flight to India. Till then, the body will remain in the mortuary," said Sherly.

What government say

Harikrishnan Namboothiri K, the CEO of Non-Resident Keralites Affairs, government of Kerala, said, "We have taken up this matter with the Indian mission in Israel and we are in constant touch for early repatriation of her mortal remains to homeland. We are following up with the Indian Ambassador to Israel."