Korean citizens reported safe as Israel-Hamas conflict escalates

The Korean Foreign Ministry has said there are no Korean citizens in the casualties of the recent Israel-Hamas conflict, as of 11 a.m. Sunday.

A ball of fire and smoke rises above a building in Gaza City on Saturday during an Israeli air strike. [AFP/YONHAP]

The Foreign Ministry has said there are no Korean citizens in the casualties of the recent Israel-Hamas conflict, as of 11 a.m. Sunday.

According to the ministry in Seoul, around 570 Koreans reside in Israel — some 290 in Jerusalem, 210 in central cities including Tel Aviv and the other 70 in other cities.

“The diplomatic missions in the area are in the process of tallying the number of short-term visitors in Israel,” an official at the Foreign Ministry told the Korea JoongAng Daily on Sunday afternoon.

Korean companies operating businesses in Israel are also on alert as the Israel-Hamas conflict continues.

According to industry sources, Samsung Electronics operates institutes including the Samsung Israel R&D Center with its local subsidiary and the Samsung R&D Institute Israel.

“The Israeli branch and the R&D institute are located far away from the attacked region,” a spokesperson for Samsung Electronics said.

“We are continuously checking on the situation through emergency contacts.”

Other conglomerates such as Hyundai Motor Group and LG are also keenly following the situation.

Hyundai Motor Group has an innovation center and a distributor in Israel. None of the showrooms nor vehicles were reported to have been damaged from the attack as of Sunday afternoon.

LG Electronics requested all employees at its Israeli sales branch to work from home.

Korean Air is also in discussions on whether to cancel routes to the Ben-Gurion International Airport in Tel Aviv, which runs three times a week. The airport remained open as of Sunday afternoon.

Palestinians celebrate by a destroyed Israeli tank at the Gaza Strip fence east of Khan Yunis southern on Saturday. [AP/YONHAP]

After hearing of the attacks, the Korean Foreign Ministry on Saturday immediately denounced the indiscriminate assault that began with an early-dawn rocket attack and demanded that such attacks should be stopped.

“The Korean government strongly condemns all attacks against Israel, including today’s rocket firing, and requests a prompt halt of them,” the Foreign Ministry in Seoul said in its statement Saturday.

The Palestinian Islamist group Hamas initiated a surprise attack against Israel by firing thousands of rockets on Saturday at dawn during a major Jewish holiday. The Israeli military said around 2,200 rockets were fired into Israel from Gaza.

Gaza Strip is the territory along the Mediterranean Sea, home to 2.3 million Palestinians.

The assault continued as the Hamas gunmen crossed into Israel, killing and injuring hundreds of people, and escaped back into Gaza with dozens of hostages, according to Reuters.

At least 530 people have died in Israel and Gaza as of Sunday morning.

Israeli media reported that more than 300 Israelis had been killed and more than 1,500 had been wounded, citing Israel’s emergency rescue service.

At least 232 residents had been killed during Israel’s retaliation, according to the Palestinian health ministry.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Israel is “at war” following the Gaza militants’ attack on Saturday.

“What happened today has never been seen in Israel, we will take mighty vengeance for this black day,” Netanyahu said in a televised speech.

“I say to the residents of Gaza: Leave now because we will operate forcefully everywhere.”

Israel has initiated Operation Iron Swords in retaliation for the Hamas attack, launching airstrikes using multiple fighter jets.

The sudden rocket and infiltration attack came on the 50th anniversary of the 1973 War where Egyptian and Syrian forces launched surprise attacks against Israel on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year.

BY CHO JUNG-WOO, KO SUK-HYUN [cho.jungwoo1@joongang.co.kr]