Thiruvananthapuram: The Israeli Embassy in India took to social media platform X to hail two Malayali women for saving the lives of an elderly couple during the October 7 attack by Hamas.
The embassy called the two Keralites -- Sabitha and Meera Mohanan -- "Indian superwomen".
It also shared the viral video of Sabitha in which she narrates what happened on October 7 when Hamas group launched a surprise attack on Israel. In her video message, Sabitha vividly describes the harrowing incident when she and Mohanan bravely protected themselves and the elderly couple they were caring for.
Recounting the sequence of events that unfolded on that day, Sabitha said that around 6.30 am they heard sirens and ran into the safety room. They got a call from the couple's daughter who told them that things were out of control in the area -- a kibbutz called Nir Oz near the border with the Gaza strip. They were asked to lock all the doors of the house.
"Within a few minutes after that, we heard terrorists breaking into the house. shooting and breaking the glass. "We called the daughter back asking what to do and she told us to hold on to the door handle of the safety room and not let go," Sabitha, who has been working in Israel for the last three years said.
Both women held on to the door handle for over four-and-a-half hours as the attackers hit and rained bullets on it and demanded that they open it, she said. "The terrorists had entered our house around 7.30 am. They destroyed everything in the house. We did not know what was going on in the house. Around 1 pm, we heard more shooting and the father of the house said that the Israeli Defence Forces have arrived to rescue us," she said. The elderly woman was suffering from ALS disease, she added.
After the IDF arrived, they all went outside and saw that the things inside the house were completely destroyed and looted, she said.
"We do not have anything. They looted us completely. They took Meera's passport and my emergency bag (containing important documents)," Sabitha said.
"We knew missiles would be falling and when that happens we have to get inside the safety room. We had to keep our emergency bag inside the safety room, but on that day we did not have time for anything," she added.
The war that began on October 7 has become the deadliest of five Gaza wars for both sides. The Gaza Health Ministry said 2,778 Palestinians have been killed and 9,700 wounded. Another 1,200 people across Gaza are believed to be buried under the rubble, alive or dead. More than 1,400 Israelis have been killed, and at least 199 others, including children, were captured by Hamas and taken into Gaza, according to Israel.
(With PTI inputs.)
