New Delhi: Around 200 Indian pilgrims and tourists in Bethlehem who were stranded due to the fighting in the region are being brought back via Egypt. There have been no further reported incidents involving Indian nationals entangled in the aftermath of the massive Hamas attack on October 7, At least 600 Israelis, including soldiers, are reported to have been killed in the unprecedented attack by the militant group at multiple locations, from the Gaza strip. In Israel’s counterattack, at least 370 Palestinians have been killed, as per media reports.As per sources, around 200 Indian nationals were reported to have been stranded in the Bethlehem region, which is a hub for Christian pilgrims and tourists. Earlier, the Meghalaya chief minister Conrad Sangma had said that around 27 pilgrims were in that area.The Indian embassy has been able to facilitate their return through the road route by the Egyptian border, it is learnt.As per news agency PTI, there are around 18,000 Indian nationals studying and working in Israel, but there, as yet, no reports of them facing any problems or any of them having asked that their return be facilitated.Earlier, Minister of State for external affairs, Meenakshi Lekhi, had said that the government will bring back stranded students in Israel.“Indian government is striving to bring back stranded students of India from Israel. Prime Minister and his office are monitoring the situation and huge efforts are underway to get back our students who are stuck in that country,” Lekhi told reporters in Vijaywada. However, it is understood that there are no evacuations planned for Indian nationals who are residents of Israel.Just like the rest of the populace, the Indian nationals have been in and out of the bomb shelters as alarms went off on incoming threats. An Indian scientist working in an Israeli university said that they had been going into bomb shelters since early on October 7. While alerts for missiles is not new for Israelis, the escalation was unprecedented.The Indian embassy in Tel Aviv and the Representative Office of India in Ramallah had both issued advisories asking Indian nationals to remain vigilant and contact the offices directly in case of emergency.Bindu, a student at Hebrew University, told PTI that all Indian students are in touch with each other and taking stock of the situation. Some other students, when contacted, also said that they see the situation coming under control and “we should not spread panic unnecessarily”.“There is a tense situation in Israel because of the attack, but all the Indian students are safe. Most of the students are staying in dorms and accommodations provided by the institutions. We are in contact with each other as well as the Indian embassy through WhatsApp,” said Vikas Sharma, a postdoctoral fellow of the Hebrew University.Elle Prasad, who lives in Ashkelon where the maximum number of rockets have fallen, told the news agency, “They have to be very alert so that they reach the shelter house as soon as possible after the siren wails”.The PTI report also quoted an Indian national in Gaza who said that the situation was “scary”, but that they were safe for now. “There is no internet connection and electricity. The situation is scary but we are fine,” she said.At a press briefing in New Delhi, Israel’s envoy to India Naor Gilon said that there was yet no information of Indian nationals affected by the violence.“We don’t know of Indian foreign nationals so far, we didn’t get any information of such. There are more than 1800 wounded…The terrorists are going to pay a very big price. We will do it at our pace, in our choosing, the way we want it…,” he told reporters.Gilon said that Indians had reached out to volunteer to fight for Israel. “I told them thank you very much.. we fight our own fight”.The Israeli ambassador also thanked India for its support. India’s official reaction was a tweeted posted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi who condemned the attacks and expressed solidarity with Israel“Deeply shocked by the news of terrorist attacks in Israel. Our thoughts and prayers are with the innocent victims and their families. We stand in solidarity with Israel at this difficult hour,” tweeted Modi.