New Delhi:

India has launched a round-the-clock emergency helpline for its citizens in Palestine as Israel moves in on Gaza to retaliate against the Hamas group’s Sabbath attack.

“In light of the prevailing security situation, Indian nationals in Palestine can directly contact the Representative Office of India to address any case of emergency or needed assistance on the 24-hour emergency helpline,” the Indian embassy in Palestine posted on X.

Public Notice
Emergency Helpline for Indian Diaspora pic.twitter.com/5Z1Q7U71nX

— India in Palestine – الهند في فلسطين (@ROIRamallah) October 11, 2023

Israel has launched an all-out attack on the Hamas group in Gaza for the barrage of rockets fired from the coastal enclave on Saturday, a day of Sabbath and a Jewish holiday.

Israel has been pounding Hamas targets in Gaza, where districts have been reduced to rubble. Nearly 3,600 have died on both sides in the war and thousands more have been injured.

A “staggering 1,200” bodies have been discovered, mostly of unarmed civilians, the Israel Army said, while Gaza officials reported 1,055 deaths in Israel’s withering campaign of air and artillery strikes on the crowded Palestinian enclave, reported news agency AFP.

Israel’s all-out attack has triggered fears of a worsening humanitarian crisis in war-torn Gaza, where over a thousand buildings have been flattened and a total siege has been imposed with water, food, and energy supplies cut off for 2.3 million people.

Over 260,000 Gaza residents have been forced to flee their homes, a UN agency said, while the European Union has called for a “humanitarian corridor” to allow civilians to escape the enclave, the AFP report said.