Student who returned from Israel: ‘I was trapped in hostel for 45 minutes during firing’

A Rajasthani student who returned from Israel on Monday during the Hamas war claimed that because her dormitory was close to the Palestine border, terrorists had attacked the area around it. She claimed that for 45 minutes, she and her companions were locked in the dormitories of her school as Israel and the terrorists exchanged gunfire.

Operation Ajay was started by India last Wednesday to return home Indians who were stuck in a war-torn Israel. Aanchal Choudhary arrived in India on the fourth charter flight that touched down in Delhi on Sunday. She is a native of the Rajasthani town of Shekhawati.

Aanchal went to Israel to pursue a Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) degree. Describing her ordeal, she said, ‘Everyone had confined themselves to the hostel. The encounter between the army and the terrorists continued for about 45 minutes. However, the fortunate thing was that the army there killed all the terrorists.’

Aanchal said she contacted the Indian Embassy for a safe return. The PhD scholar said the Indian Embassy officials were contacting Indians living in areas where there was danger via WhatsApp and sending alerts.

She said shelter homes had also been set up in various places. ‘If any commoner is left outside during an attack, he can also go to these shelters. But we were confident that the Israeli government would not let anything happen to us.’

Aanchal’s mother, Vimala Mahariya, said, ‘My daughter was a part of the neuroscience department at Ariel University, located in the West Bank of Israel. As the attacks began, my daughter called me. I was worried as it was a sudden attack. I thank the Government of India for bringing back my daughter.’

In the ongoing conflict between Israel and the terrorist organization Hamas, more than 4,000 people have been killed on both sides to date. The terrorist organization may try to use the Israelis it kidnapped as negotiating chips to achieve the release of Palestinian inmates, according to a prominent Hamas leader who said on Monday that the organization ‘has what it needs’ to free all Palestinians detained in Israeli jails.

With more than 4,000 casualties on both sides, the Israel-Hamas conflict, which entered Day 11 on Tuesday, has surpassed the death toll from the previous five Gaza conflicts. In preparation for an unexpected invasion intended to depose Hamas’ leadership following its murderous incursion, more than a million Gazans have abandoned their homes. The relief organizations have warned that the Israeli ground offensive could exacerbate a humanitarian calamity.