Keralite Fatally Shot While Attempting Border Crossing into Israel from Jordan

Key Takeaways

A Keralite was shot while crossing into Israel.
Thomas Gabriel traveled on a tourist visa.
His wife sought help after losing contact.
Edison, his relative, was also injured and deported.
Financial assistance is needed to repatriate Thomas's body.

Thiruvananthapuram, March 2 (NationPress) A Keralite was fatally shot while attempting to cross into Israel from the Jordanian border.

The deceased, identified as Thomas Gabriel, an autorickshaw driver hailing from Thumba in Thiruvananthapuram, traveled to Israel on February 5 with a distant relative named Edison. He maintained contact with his wife, Christina, until February 9, reassuring her of his safety.

When Christina did not hear from him afterward, she became concerned and sought help from the Department of Non-Resident Keralites Affairs (NORKA) to find her husband. On February 28, she received an email confirming Thomas’s demise. Due to her lack of familiarity with email, she had to wait until her nephew accessed the message the following day.

The email indicated that Thomas had died on February 10. Local ward councillor Rexlin Mary mentioned that residents and neighbors reported that Thomas traveled to Israel on a tourist visa. NORKA officials verified that he was shot while attempting to cross the Israeli border from Jordan.

Previously, Thomas worked as a security guard in Kuwait for three years before returning to Kerala five to six years ago. After his return, he earned a living driving an autorickshaw and occasionally took up loading work.

According to neighbor Stanley Rodriguez, the couple was experiencing financial hardships. “He and Edison went to Israel as part of a tour program. From what we gather, their journey was arranged by someone possessing a Jordan visa,” Rodriguez explained.

Thomas was a member of St. Dominic’s Church in Vettucaud, but further details about the travel arrangements remain uncertain. His phone has been off since he went missing.

Edison, who was wounded in the same incident, suffered a gunshot injury to his leg. He lost consciousness after being shot and was later detained and hospitalized in Israel.

Authorities deported him after a week, sending him back to India, where he first arrived in Kochi before returning to Thiruvananthapuram two days later. A neighbor disclosed that four individuals were part of the travel program, and two of them are currently imprisoned in Israel.

Thomas’s body remains in Israel, and his family is in urgent need of financial help to repatriate his remains. Stanley Rodriguez called for government intervention to expedite the process and ensure Thomas’s body is returned home without further delay.