TEHRAN- After 20 days of Israeli bombardment of the Gaza Strip, on the evening of 27 October, the Israeli military started its large-scale air and ground invasion of the coastal enclave, with the stated goal of destroying Hamas and ending its governance in the besieged territory. 

By November 1, the first casualties of the Israeli ground offensive were announced by the regime’s military. Among the first Israeli troops killed was Halel Solomon. 

Solomon had migrated to the occupied Palestinian territories from India and enlisted in the Givati Brigades. He lived in Dimona, in the occupied territories, which is infamously home to the regime's nuclear weapons program. 

A town in the city has also been described as "little India" for the large number of Indian expatriates that live there. 

With a large war brewing following Operation al-Aqsa Storm on 7 October, many foreign nationals left the occupied Palestinian territories. 

A section of Indians on the other hand, with Jewish background, have tried their best to migrate to the occupied territories, with hundreds even trying to enlist in the Israeli military to fight its devastating war on Gaza. 

Among the communities in India's 1.4 billion strong population is the Bnei Menashe tribe?, estimated to comprise of 5,000 members who believe their ancient Jewish heritage belongs in occupied Palestine. They are among many other Indians who are eager to travel to the occupied territories. 

"I want to go to Israel and connect with my lost tribe. I also want to join the [Israeli army] and help them in fighting against Hamas because I belong from that land," Joseph Haokip of the Bnei Menashe community in the Indian state of Manipur told Al Jazeera. 

He is not alone. As Israeli soldiers suffer huge casualties in the Gaza Strip, the occupied West Bank and on the Northern front with Lebanon’s Hezbollah, footage has emerged showing hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Indians gathering and queuing at the Israeli embassy in Delhi to apply for visas and potentially fight in Gaza. 

Israeli authorities have kept information classified on how many Indians have traveled to the occupied territories to fight on behalf of the regime's devastating war in the Gaza Strip. 

The government of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu says it has set up a committee to work on plans for the migration of the Bnei Menashe to the occupied territories, where serving in the military is mandatory. 

Reports indicate hundreds of Israelis born in India, in particular from the states of Manipur and Mizoram, have answered the Israeli military's call to fight in Gaza. 

Among them are more than 200 soldiers fighting in the enclave from the Indian Bnei Menashe community. In the weeks after Operation al-Aqsa Storm on 7 October, Israeli media indicated that 75 members of the community had arrived at the occupied territories and fought in Gaza. 

Because of the regime's heavy censorship of media reports over the military casualties, the number of Indians who have died at the hands of the Palestinian resistance forces in the enclave is unclear. 

How many Indians in total enlisted in the Israeli military and have suffered casualties at the hands of the Palestinian resistance is also unclear. 

There are estimated to be tens of thousands of Israeli settlers of Indian descent in the occupied Palestinian territories. The exact number who have reported for military service after 7 October is among the other data that has been kept secret by the Israeli regime. 

According to a report on October 20, 2023 by India Today at least 400 Indians were fighting on the front lines with the Israeli military, including a soldier who suffered injuries to his eye and arm by Lebanon’s Hezbollah on the northern front.

But the Israeli Ambassador to India, Naor Gilon, went a step further by telling Asian News International (ANI), an Indian news agency, that "this is only part of the picture, regular Indians. Look at the social media of the embassy. It's amazing, I think I could have another Israeli army with the volunteers. Everyone is telling me, I want to volunteer, I want to go and fight for Israel." 

Gilon added, "This wide support, strong support is unprecedented for me. I am really moved and touched... ..it's very emotional, very deep...it is something very unique". 

Also very emotional is the 27,365 Palestinians who have been killed by the Israeli military in Gaza since the war on the enclave began on 7 October, the majority of whom are women and children. 

A further 66,630 people have been injured, the Gaza Health Ministry has said. 

In the last 24 hours alone, the ministry noted 127 people had been killed and 178 injured by Israeli attacks.