31-year old  Soumya Santosh, hailing from Idukki, Kerala was on the video call  with her husband when  she was killed  in a mortar shell attack mounted by Hamas, a Palestinian militants group,  from the Gaza coastal strip. She worked as a caregiver to an elderly woman in the southern Israeli coastal city of Ashkelon, which borders the disputed Gaza Strip. Soumya has a nine-year-old son who stays with his father in Kerala.

V. Muraleedharan, India’s Minister of State for External Affairs , has spoken to the family. “Spoke with the family of Ms Soumya Santhosh to convey my deep condolences at her tragic demise during the rocket attacks from Gaza today. Assured all possible assistance.  We have condemned these attacks and the violence in Jerusalem, and urged restraint by both sides,” Muraleedharan said in a tweet.

Kerala government has said in a statement that it is in touch with Indian Embassy in Israel to ensure that the mortal remains of Soumya are brought back to Kerala and handed over to her family as soon as possible. The CM expressed heartfelt condolences to the family and friends of Soumya.

Alon Ushpiz, Director-General, Israel's Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a tweet, “I was devastated to hear about the death of Soumya Santosh, an Indian citizen killed by Hamas rocket fire. Sending my condolences to her family and to the Indian people. May her memory be a blessing.”

Embassy of israel said in a tweet, “We offer our deepest condolences to the family & loved ones of Ms. Soumya Santosh, an #Indian Citizen killed in the #HamasTerrorist Rocket Strike. The state of @Israel is coordinating with @indemtel for the transfer of her body to India. May her memory be a blessing.”

I was devastated to hear about the death of Soumya Santosh, an Indian citizen killed by Hamas rocket fire. Sending my condolences to her family and to the Indian people.
May her memory be a blessing. https://t.co/1DMfdvBt0U

— Alon Ushpiz (@AlonUshpiz) May 12, 2021

Israel's ambassador to India, Ron Malka, on Wednesday spoke to the family of Soumya Santosh, "I just spoke to the family of Ms Soumya Santosh, the victim of the Hamas terrorist strike. I expressed my sorrow for their unfortunate loss & extended my condolences on behalf of the state of Israel. The whole country is mourning her loss & we are here for them," he tweeted.

Malka said that this attack reminded him of little boy  Moshe who lost his parents in the 2008 26/11 terror attack on Chabad House, a Jewish cultural centre in Mumbai, Malka said. "My heart goes out to her 9-year-old son, Adon, who has lost his mother at such a young age and will have to grow up without her. This evil attack reminds me of little Moses, who also lost his parents during the 2008 #Mumbaiattacks. May God give them strength and courage," the envoy wrote.

My heart goes out to her 9-year-old son, Adon, who has lost his mother at such a young age and will have to grow up without her. This evil attack reminds me of little Moses, who also lost his parents during the 2008 #Mumbaiattacks.
May God give them strength and courage🙏

— Ron Malka 🇮🇱 (@DrRonMalka) May 12, 2021

Soumya had been working in Israel for the past seven years and had last visited her family in 2017. Her sister-in-law Sherly Benny, who also works in Israel,

At least 32 people have so far been killed in the escalation after militants in Gaza fired more than two hundred rockets towards Israel since Monday evening. Israel too carried out hundreds of air strikes at Hamas and Islamic Jihad locations in Gaza.

The israeli government has issued pictorial advisory to all foreign nationals living in Israel to take precautions in the case of missile attacks.