Nation mourning demise of 10 Nepalis in Israel today

By A Staff Reporter,Kathmandu, Oct. 10: The government has decided to observe national mourning on Tuesday on the death of 10 Nepali citizens killed in Israel in the attack made by Hamas, a militant group in Palestine.  

"There is no public holiday, but the government decided to observe national mourning on Tuesday," said Minister for Communication and Information 

Technology Rekha Sharma after the Cabinet meeting held at the Office of Prime Minister and Council of Ministers (OPMCM), Singha Durbar, on Monday evening. 

The government has decided to fly the national flag at half-mast in all government offices and Nepali missions abroad, said Minister Sharma. 

"The government has decided to provide Rs. 1 million to family of each victim as compensation," Minister Sharma said.  

The government has expressed condolences to the bereaved families and wished for the speedy recovery of the injured. 

The cabinet meeting decided to facilitate the Nepal citizens who are in Israel if they wish to return home.

According to the government, the Nepalis were tragically killed at a place called Kibbutz Alumim in southern Israel, near Gaza Strip, on October 7. 

Further, the cabinet meeting decided to give full authority to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to coordinate with the Israeli government to bring the bodies of the Nepalis who died there at the earliest possible. Similarly, the meeting decided to expedite the search of the missing Nepalis in the incident and arrange necessary coordination and facilitation for the immediate treatment of the injured in coordination and cooperation with the government of Israel and the Nepali Embassy there. 

It is also said that the Nepali Embassy in Israel will collect the details of Nepali citizens who want to return home through online system who can register their personal details online, and send it to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Nepal. The government has said that it has kept chartered flights of Nepal Airlines and Himalaya Airlines in ready position to bring them to Nepal safely. 

The government has also given approval to the Nepali Embassy in Israel to employ a local person there who knows Hebrew language for a maximum of three months to assist in the rescue and repatriation of Nepalis.

The cabinet meeting has given authority to the Nepali mission Israel to coordinate and facilitate the safe rescue of Nepali citizens from dangerous areas in Israel and establish and manage a temporary transit camp for them before their return to Nepal.

Minister Sharma said that the government has decided to take help of the government of Israel and other friendly countries, including neighbouring nations, as needed. The government has urged all Nepali citizens not to disseminate irrelevant and insensitive materials through the media and social networking sites and to play a responsible role from their respective fields in relation to the incident considering human sensitivity and mental trauma of the family members.