Mortal remains of former army officer Kale killed in Gaza reach India, says MEA

New Delhi: The mortal remains of Colonel (retd) Waibhav Anil Kale arrived in India on Friday, the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said, days after the former Indian Army officer who was working with the UN in Gaza was killed in an attack in the Rafah region.Kale, 46, who retired prematurely from the Indian Army in 2022, joined the UN as a security coordination officer in the UN Department of Safety and Security (DSS) two months ago.

"Today the Indian Mission in Tel Aviv along with.. in collaboration with the UN authorities, they were able to coordinate the transportation of mortal remains. The mortal remains of Col (retd) Kale has arrived in India today, for formalities to be done by the family," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said in response to a query during his weekly briefing here.

The MEA had earlier said India's Permanent Mission to the UN in New York as well as its mission in Tel Aviv and Ramallah are extending all assistance in the repatriation of mortal remains of Kale to India.

Jaiswal said the MEA has already conveyed "our deepest condolences" on his passing away.

"As far as the investigation of the issue is concerned, you would have seen the statement issued by the UN Secretary General's Office that they have set up a fact-finding panel. As far as we are concerned, we also remain in touch with relevant authorities as far as the investigation is concerned," he said.

The MEA spokesperson was also asked, how many Indians are there in Gaza, whi are working with the UN.

"We understand from reports that some 70-odd UN personnel are working in Gaza, out of those how many are Indian, I am not very sure, but I will come back to you once I have clarity of information on that," he said.

The United Nations has also condoled the killing of Kale.

He was killed after the vehicle he was travelling in came under attack in the Rafah region in the Gaza Strip on Monday.

Farhan Haq, Deputy Spokesman for UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, has earlier said that the UN has established a fact-finding panel to look into the deadly attack.

The fact-finding mission is being set up by the Department of Safety and Security.