Israel hails as ‘superwomen’ two Keralites who saved elderly couple from Hamas attack

The Israeli Embassy in India, in a post on social media platform X, has hailed the two Keralites — Sabitha and Meera Mohanan — as “Indian superwomen.” The duo, working as caregivers of an elderly couple in Israel, also became their lifesavers during an attack by Hamas insurgents.

Along with the elderly patients, Sabitha and Meera locked themselves in the safety room of the house and held on to the door handle for more than four hours as attackers rained bullets on the door. They were later saved by the Israel Defence Forces.

Two women from Kerala working as caregivers of an elderly couple in Israel also became their lifesavers during the October 7 attack on that country by insurgents from the Hamas outfit, which controls Gaza. The Israeli Embassy in India, in a post on social media platform X, has hailed the two Keralites — Sabitha and Meera Mohanan — as “Indian superwomen”.

It also shared the viral video of Sabitha in which she narrates what happened on October 7 when Hamas group launched a surprise attack on Israel. In her video message, Sabitha vividly describes the harrowing incident when she and Meera protected themselves and the elderly couple they were caring for. The woman was suffering from ALS disease, she said.

Recounting the sequence of events that unfolded on that day, Sabitha said that around 6.30 a.m. they heard sirens and ran into the safety room. Thereafter, they got a call from the couple’s daughter who told them that things were out of control in the area — a kibbutz called Nir Oz near the border with the Gaza strip — and to lock all the doors of the house. “Within a few minutes, we heard people breaking into the house and shooting. We called the daughter back asking what to do and she told us to hold on to the door handle of the safety room and not let go,” Sabitha, who has been working in Israel for the past three years, said.

Both women held on to the door handle for over four-and-a-half hours as the attackers hit and rained bullets on it and demanded that they open it, she said. “They destroyed everything. We did not know what was going on. Around 1 p.m., we heard more shooting. Later, the Israeli Defence Forces rescued us,” she said.

The things inside the house were destroyed or looted, she said. “We do not have anything. They took away Meera’s passport and my bag containing important documents,” Sabitha said.

“We were told that when there was a missile attack we must get inside the safety room. We were to also keep our emergency bag inside the safety room, but on that day we did not have time for anything,” she added.