In the midst of the Israel-Palestine conflict, the government says Bhutanese who are currently in Israel are safe. There are more than eighty Bhutanese in the Middle Eastern country. The war between Israel and Palestine started six days ago and has resulted in a casualty of more than two thousand deaths so far.
Agriculture Minister Yeshey Penjor says there are 82 Bhutanese in Israel and they are all safe.
The minister said they were sent there for various long-term agriculture training.
37 are high school graduates, 30 are staff of the Farm Machinery Corporation Limited and 15 are from the Gyalsung Project.
“We have sent them to a company called AgroStudies, and the company has sent these students to different places and farms according to their interests such as mushroom, vegetable and livestock farms. For now, the students are all safe and are kept safe by the government of Israel,” said Lyonpo Yeshey Penjor.
“The family and friends must be worried but the Foreign Ministry and the Foreign Ministry of Israel are contacting each other on a daily basis and monitoring the situation.”
He added that there were eight students who were near the war zone but they have been relocated to a safer place.
The need to evacuate the Bhutanese citizens in Israel has not been found necessary but he said the government will provide support to those who want to return.
“If one or two individuals want to come because they are scared, they can be evacuated. The government will facilitate and plan their evacuation but they might have to cover expenses such as the flight ticket on their own. However, if the situation in Israel becomes worse, the government will plan and cover the expenses of their evacuation,” said the agriculture minister.
According to media reports, the Palestinian militant group called Hamas launched an attack on Israel on Saturday which led to the start of the war.
Hundreds of Hamas gunmen infiltrated communities near the Gaza Strip and took hundreds of Israeli soldiers and civilians as hostages.
Meanwhile, India’s external affairs minister posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, that India is arranging special charter flights and other arrangements to facilitate the return of Indian citizens from Israel.
Singye Dema
Edited by Yeshi Gyaltshen
