A group of 15 Sri Lankans have been allowed to leave the war-torn Gaza Strip through the Rafah Border crossing into Egypt along with hundreds of other foreign nationals, a senior most official said in Colombo on Thursday.
Deputy General Manager Training and Recruitment with the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) Gamini Senarath Yapa said that efforts are been made through diplomatic channels to search for more Sri Lankans who may be trapped or even dead in the Gaza Strip.
Yapa also quoted Colombo’s envoy in Tel Aviv as saying that a Sri Lankan man identified as Nimal Bandara and a father of two is suspected to be among the hostages held by the Islamic terrorist group Hamas.
He was reported missing after the October 7, attacks carried out by Hamas inside Israel territory.
Several measures are currently being taken to secure his immediate release, Yapa said.
The SLBFE is the sole Government body that approves and registers Sri Lankans seeking overseas job placements.
Currently there are an estimated 8,000 Sri Lankans employed in the Jewish State some 90 percent of them being female caregivers.
Last week the remains of a 48-year-old Sri Lankan woman who was employed as a caregiver in an Israeli home and murdered in the October 7 Hamas terrorists massacre was handed over to her relatives in Colombo.
However, despite the ongoing tension in the region the Sri Lankan Government has stopped short of issuing a travel ban to Israeli only to add that more are on the waiting list to take up employment in the Jewish State.
