Israel woke up to a surprise land-air-sea attack by Hamas on Saturday, a day of Sabbath (Reuters)
Google CEO Sundar Pichai said he is “deeply saddened by the escalating conflict” between Israel and Hamas that has wreaked havoc on the lives of thousands.
On the fifth day (October 11) of the war, Israel said it has recaptured Gaza border areas from the Hamas group as the war's death count passed 3,500.
The Google CEO said that the company's immediate focus is the safety of its employees and said that the local staff in Israel have been contacted and are being supported by the organisation.
In a post on X, Google CEO Sundar Pichai wrote, “Deeply saddened by the terrorist attacks in Israel this weekend and the escalating conflict underway. Google has two offices and over 2,000 employees in Israel. It's unimaginable what they're experiencing. Our immediate focus since Saturday has been on employee safety. We've now made contact with all of our local employees, and will continue supporting them. We're also working to provide reliable, accurate information to people through our products, as well as sharing the cyber activity that our experts are seeing. We'll be supporting humanitarian and relief organisations on the ground. Our thoughts are with the victims and their families.”
Google has two offices in Israel - one in Haifa and the other in Tel Aviv - with over 2,000 employees.
On Saturday, as Israelis were wrapping up the seven-day-long Jewish festival of Sukkot, 5,000 rockets pounded the country, overwhelming it's aerial defence system - the Iron Dome.
Israel Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the country is "at war" and that the "enemy will pay an unprecedented price".
Prime Minister Narendra Modi extended his support to Israel. In a post on X, he said he is "deeply shocked by the news of terrorist attacks in Israel".
"We stand in solidarity with Israel at this difficult hour,” he wrote.