NEW DELHI: A 19-year-old Israeli soldier of Indian origin has been declared dead by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) as the conflict with Hamas entered the 143th day.
"Sgt. Oz Daniel who's from Indian ancestry and was kidnapped to Gaza on October 7 was declared dead," said Israel’s Ambassador to India Naor Gilon.
Daniel was listed among the 253 hostages abducted by Hamas on October 7, 2023. The army’s chief rabbi has declared Daniel dead based on intelligence reports.
Daniel’s body is still in Gaza, according to reports. Around 130 hostages remain in Gaza though there are no details available on how many of them have survived. 109 hostages have been released from Gaza so far.
Earlier, the death of another Israeli soldier of Indian origin Sergeant Gil Daniels had been reported in December 2023. The 34-year-old was from the Bene Israel community of Maharashtra.
In November 2023, 20-year-old Staff-Sgt. Halel Solomon, who was also of Indian origin, had died while fighting in Gaza.
There are about 85,000 Indian origin Jews in Israel. They include Cochin Jews and Paradesi Jews of Kerala, Baghdadi Jews from Mumbai and Kolkata, Bene Israel of Maharashtra and Bnei Menashe of Manipur and Mizoram.