Foreign Workers Leaving Israel After Hamas Attacks

Foreign workers are leaving Israel in droves following the recent attacks by Hamas group of Palestine.

As per the Israel Population and Immigration Authority (PIBA), there were approximately 116,000 foreign workers in Israel who had entered with work permits by the close of 2020.

Last week, India orchestrated the evacuation of more than 400 of its nationals from Israel although the government did not specify whether these evacuees were working in Israel. In April this year, Israel had proposed importing thousands of workers from India and China to alleviate high living costs. In May, Foreign Minister Eli Cohen signed agreements with India, to bring in 34,000 workers for construction and 8,000 for caregiving, addressing high demand in these fields.

On October 12, a group of 41 Thai workers returned via Israel Airlines flight LY 083, some of them had received injuries during the fighting. Thailand has some 30,000 workers in Israel of which approximately 6,000 have asked to be flown back. They work predominantly in the agricultural sector.

The Thai Foreign Ministry said Thursday that 21 of its nationals had been killed and 14 wounded, while 16 others are believed to have been taken hostage by Hamas.

On Friday, as more than 250 citizens of Nepal arrived in Kathmandu from Tel Aviv, the government said it was working to bring back the bodies of 10 agriculture students killed by Hamas at the kibbutz where they were staying under an Israeli government “earn and learn” program.

The Philippines has some 5000 workers in Israel, many of whom are working as care-givers. Manila has asked Filipinos to leava Gaza where three of them were killed in fighting there. Just before the fighting started, some 137 Filipinos were located in Gaza.