India supplies Israel with tens of thousands of construction and nursing workers

Thousands of Indian construction workers and nurses are heading to Israel to work despite the ongoing war between Israel and Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Israel is suffering from a labor shortage after banning the work of tens of thousands of Palestinian workers following the October 7 attack.

Randhir Jaiswal, spokesman for the Indian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said that the travel of Indian workers this week was part of an agreement signed by the two countries before the outbreak of hostilities.

The first batch of Indian workers has already left for Israel, Jaiswal told reporters on Thursday.

He added, "Their safety is very important. For our part, we call on the Israeli authorities to make every effort to ensure their safety."

Jaiswal said that 18,000 Indians are working in Israel at the moment, most of whom are health care providers.

During Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen's visit to India last May, the two countries signed an agreement allowing about 40,000 Indians to work in the fields of construction and nursing in Israel.

The first batch, consisting of more than 60 construction workers, left on Tuesday, and the Israeli ambassador to India, Naor Gilon, published pictures of the workers’ farewell party on his account on the “X” social networking site.

Thousands of Indian workers flocked to government employment centers last January in the states of Uttar Pradesh and Haryana to search for job candidates in Israel.

India condemned the Hamas attack on southern Israel, but voted in favor of a UN General Assembly resolution last December, which called on Israel to stop the war to allow humanitarian aid to arrive. New Delhi also renewed its support for the two-state solution.