New Delhi: Indian workers in Ashkelon, a city in southern Israel, were beaten up in a targeted attack, the Israeli Public Broadcasting Corporation has reported.Ashkelon is located 50 km south of Tel Aviv and is near the border of the Gaza Strip.A video clip released by the Israeli’s broadcaster – which has the brand name ‘Kan’ – shows at least two men being beaten up by a group of at least three in what appears to be a public park.The Hebrew caption in the YouTube video released by the broadcaster claims that the ambush was a “premeditated one”.Kan also describes the attack as one “driven by racism and malice”. The video’s title indicates that the attack was planned over WhatsApp chats.“Driven by racism and malice, a group of rioters from the south of the country plotted an attack, targeting the Indian workers in the neighborhood — and beat them violently in the heart of a public park,” the report says.Although the news clip is from February 16, it is not immediately clear when the attack took place.Congress leader Pawan Khera has posted on X about the incident, imploring the Union government to attend to it.“[External affairs minister S. Jaishankar] should urgently look into the matter, confirm the victim’s condition, and ensure he has access to adequate, free-of-cost medical care if required. PM Modi is visiting Israel soon, will he raise the issue of racism and violent attacks against Indian nationals in Israel?” he wrote.Indians have been travelling to Israel in larger numbers ever since Israel suspended the work permits of thousands of Palestinians after October 7, leading to a shortage of workers.As The Wire had reported in 2024, Israel has been keen to keep these drives opaque.The labour union All India Trade Union Congress (AITUC) had said that these hirings, which took place despite the perceived security risks, were a failure of the Narendra Modi-led Union government’s promise of generating two crore jobs per year.