Nushrratt Bharuccha, who was stranded in Israel amid the war, reached India on Sunday with the help of Government of India and Indian Embassy. On Tuesday, the actor took a moment to thank everyone who brought her back to India from the war zone. She was caught in the country and experienced mental health toll. Along with the video, she posted a long note that read:
“The last week will forever remain etched in my memory…a rollercoaster ride of emotions, the final 36 hours of which will remain the most unforgettable and daunting of my life… My producer, stylist and I had been flown in to Haifa in Israel, on October 3, to attend the reputed Haifa International Film Festival for the screening of our recent film, Akelli, alongside my Israeli co-actors, Tsahi Halevi and Amir Boutrous. After two days of visiting all of Israel’s historic places, Jerusalem, Jaffa, Bahai, the Dead Sea, we’d almost ended our trip with a celebratory dinner for the film’s cast on Friday night, Oct 6. That evening, Tsahi, Amir and I had toasted our film’s selection at the Haifa Film Fest, promised to visit each other, and possibly work together again. We’d said our goodbyes and were ready to fly back the next day. But Saturday morning was nothing like the previous evening’s celebration. We were woken up to the deafening sounds of bombs going off, a blaring siren, and complete and utter panic as we were all rushed down into a ‘shelter’ in the basement of our hotel. It was only when we emerged from in there, after what seemed like an endless wait, that we learnt that Israel was under attack. Nothing should have prepared us for this news”, Nushrratt wrote in her post.
The another slide on Nushrratt’s post read, “In a state of complete terror, our first impulse was to somehow reach the Indian Embassy, situated barely 2 km from our hotel, but a distance that seemed impossible to cover without any mode of transport whatsoever and only the dreadful sounds of explosions at very close range. We were then informed that Hamas militants had infiltrated several cities in Israel and were also out now on the roads, pulling civilians out of their homes and shooting people at random. Furthermore, there was open fire on vehicles on the roads and the situation out on the streets was ‘extremely dangerous’. Just then, we heard a second siren go off and were rushed back down into the basement shelter. Soon realisation set in that we may actually not be able to make it to our scheduled flight back to India that night, and would most likely be stuck in a country that was now openly at war. This is when we began making desperate calls to everyone for help out of this unprecedented situation. When we connected with Tsahi, who too had customarily served in the Israeli military, it became clear that Israel was, in fact, in a state of emergency and engaged in a full-blown war.”
Watch the video and read the full post shared by Nushrratt:
Israel-Palestine Conflict:
On 7 October 2023, Palestinian militant groups led by Hamas launched a large-scale invasion and offensive against Israel from the Gaza Strip. The militants broke through the Gaza–Israel barrier and forced their way through Gaza border crossings, entering nearby Israeli settlements and military installations. Israel declared a ‘state of war’ in response to a sudden and massive attack by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on Saturday. The conflict resulted in over 300 casualties in Israel, with Gaza authorities reporting a death toll of 232.
