Israel-Hamas war: Indian-origin Israeli soldier killed as tensions rise in West Bank

Amid escalating tensions in West Bank, a 24-year-old Indian-origin Israeli soldier was killed in Beit El settlement on Wednesday, news agency PTI reported.

Staff Sergeant Geri Gideon Hanghal, belonging to Bnei Menashe community, was a resident of Nof HaGalil and a soldier in the Kfir Brigade’s Nahshon Battalion, the Israeli Army said.

Bnei Menashe community members told the news agency that they were “in shock at the news of the loss of a young life” near Asaf Junction and last rites will be performed on Thursday.

Back in 2020, Hanghal moved to Israel from the northeastern region of India. Nof HaGalil Mayor, Ronen Plot, was quoted by Ynetnews as saying that “the city of Nof HaGalil mourns and grieves the loss of Staff Sgt. Hanghal. Gideon was a member of the Bnei Menashe community, which is very dear to my heart—good, humble and patriotic people”.

Notably, about 300 Bnei Menashe youth are said to be on Army duty amid the ongoing war, most of them working in combat units.

Belonging to Manipur and Mizoram, Bnei Menahse members are believed to have descended from the Israelite tribe of Menasseh, one of the “lost tribes” of ancient times. In the last five years, about 1,500 members of the community are said to have moved to Israel and a total of about 5,000 altogether.

Footage from the spot of the attack showed a truck with a Palestinian license plate veering off a busy highway and barrel full speed into an Israel Defence Forces (IDF) guard post adjacent to a bus stop before coming to a halt.

The suspect was named by Israeli security sources as 58-year-old Hayil Dhaifallah, from the central West Bank town of Rafat.

Israel strikes claimed 34 lives

Meanwhile, two Israeli airstrikes overnight and on Wednesday over central Gaza has claimed at least 34 lives, including that of six United Nations’ staffers and 19 women and children, news agency AP reported.

The Israeli airstrike targetted a UN school in the Nuseirat refugee camp, which was sheltering nearly 12,000 displaced Palestinians.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in Palestine said that this was the highest death toll among staffers in a single incident. In a post on X, UNRWA said, “Among those killed was the manager of the UNRWA shelter and other team members providing assistance to displaced people.”

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