Israel concerned about rabbi
held hostage, to send rescue team
Mumbai/New
Delhi, Nov 28 (IANS) Israel is planning to send paramedics
and rescue personnel to Mumbai to speed up the release of
an Israeli rabbi and seven others held hostage by terrorists
in an apartment in the city and to help the injured.
The
Israeli intelligence agencies have identified the hostage
as Rabbi Gabriel Holtzberg. His wife Rivka and six others
are said to be held inside the Jewish centre in Mumbai.
Indian
security personnel are trying to break into the Nariman House,
also known as the Chabad House.
The
Israeli foreign ministry said it was trying to locate 20 missing
Israelis in Mumbai.
Chabad House is a popular stop that provides different services
to visiting Israeli tourists, including kosher food.
Around
4,000 full-time emissary families direct more than 3,300 Chabad
institutions around the world.
The
Israeli foreign ministry is also exploring the possibility
of sending a team of Israeli doctors based in New Delhi to
Mumbai to assist the local authorities in treating the injured,
according to the Israel Project, an international non-profit
organization devoted to educating the press and the public
about Israel.
“Plans
are also put in place for Israel to deliver medical supplies
and other equipment to India,” it said.
The
Israeli embassy in New Delhi said it is not clear about how
many Israelis have been hit by the terror strike in Mumbai
Wednesday that killed at least 124 people and left more than
320 injured.
“We
are preparing to send a team of doctors, paramedics, medical
assistants and professionals and are preparing for the possibility
that we may be called to treat victims in hospitals or locate
families and friends,” said Israel's international emergency
medical organisation Magen David Adom Spokesman Zaki Heller.
“We
have already made contact with the joint organisation's envoys
in the area to help us understand what is needed,” Heller
said.
Israel's
Foreign Minister and Vice Prime Minister Tzipi Livni has strongly
condemned terror attacks in Mumbai. “This is further painful
evidence that the terrorist threat is the greatest challenge
which Israel and the international community have to face,”
Livni said.
Livni
spoke to the Israel Consul General in Mumbai, who updated
her on the latest developments. “The ministry of foreign affairs
and the consulate are making maximum efforts to ascertain
the situation of the Israelis in the city as quickly as possible,”
the Israeli foreign office said in a statement.
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