Indian Workers in Israel

Before the War: Caregivers and the Framework Agreement (2022 to September 2023)

Before 2023, Indian workers in Israel worked mainly in homes, caring for elderly Israelis. In April 2024, India's External Affairs Ministry spokesman Randhir Jaiswal said 18,000 Indians were employed in Israel, most of them caregivers [1]. That figure counts Indians already in Israel. It is not a count of new arrivals. Recruitment of caregivers had largely run through private agencies. In February 2023, a Times of Israel investigation reported that prospective Indian caregivers applied to India-based manpower agencies working with partner agencies in Israel, and that charging such fees is illegal according to the Israeli workers' rights group Kav LaOved. The Embassy of India in Tel Aviv said it knew of unregulated recruitment and unauthorized placement fees and was working on a bilateral agreement with Israel [2]. India and Israel began negotiating a bilateral framework agreement in 2022, with the stated aim of giving Indian nationals access to Israel through safe, orderly, regulated and legal migration [3]. On 9 May 2023, Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen and External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar signed the resulting agreements in New Delhi. The Israeli foreign ministry said the agreements would allow 42,000 Indian workers to come to Israel, with 34,000 in construction and 8,000 in nursing care. It said the move was expected to ease the rising cost of living and help thousands of families waiting for nursing care [4]. When the agreement went before the Knesset in November 2023, its appendix stated that it sought to prevent human trafficking and illegal brokerage fees during recruitment, and that workers entering under it must be trained for their fields [5].

The Labour Shock and the Government-to-Government Drive (October 2023 to April 2024)

Before the war, Israel's construction industry depended heavily on non-Israeli labour. Bank of Israel data for the second quarter of 2023 recorded about 208,000 Israelis in construction, alongside 75,000 reported workers from the West Bank and 12,000 from Gaza. A further 15,000 West Bank workers were employed illegally, and about 23,000 foreign workers were reported [6]. After the Hamas-led attack of 7 October 2023, Israel stopped all employment of Gaza workers and restricted entry from Judea and Samaria. The Bank of Israel later reported that about 140,000 Palestinian workers stopped coming to work in Israel because of entry prohibitions, and about 13,000 foreign workers left the country. By the end of 2024, the number of non-Israeli workers was about one-third below its prewar level, with most of the fall in construction [7]. Israel then turned to India. On 15 November 2023, India's National Skill Development Corporation (NSDC) received a request for 10,000 construction workers from Israel's Population and Immigration Authority (PIBA). The request covered four trades: 3,000 formwork workers, 3,000 iron benders, 2,000 plasterers and 2,000 ceramic tilers [8]. The Framework Agreement and its Implementation Protocols were signed in November 2023 [3]. In the Knesset, MK Eliyahu Revivo, chairman of the Foreign Workers Committee, led the effort to finalize the agreement and described it as a lifeline for construction and nursing [5]. The NSDC held testing drives in early 2024. In the first phase, held in Uttar Pradesh, Haryana and Telangana, 16,832 candidates took skill tests for construction roles and 10,349 were selected [9]. On 2 April 2024, the first batch of 64 workers left New Delhi after a farewell event hosted by the Israeli Embassy. Ambassador Naor Gilon said he expected the workers to become "ambassadors" of the great people-to-people relations between the two countries [8].

Arrivals, Numbers and Sectors (April 2024 to July 2025)

Arrivals grew through 2024. In July 2024, India's Minister of State for Labour told the Lok Sabha that Israel had requested 10,000 Indian workers under the construction protocol. Of these, 4,825 had been deployed, including 4,415 from Uttar Pradesh [10]. The most recent official figures come from Indian parliamentary answers in August 2025. As of 1 July 2025, 6,774 Indian workers had arrived in Israel under the bilateral framework: 6,730 in construction and 44 as caregivers [3]. In a separate answer, the Ministry added that about 7,000 Indian nationals had been recruited as caregivers and about 6,400 in construction through private channels [11]. The G2G channel and the private channels together account for about 20,174 workers. The pre-war figure of 18,000 and the 2025 figures were collected on different bases at different dates, so they are reported separately here and not added together. The sector pattern is clear in these figures. The government channel has supplied almost entirely construction workers. Private channels have supplied both caregivers and construction workers. Some placements did not match workers' skills. The Ministry reported that some workers complained they had not been placed in the jobs they were promised, and that about 220 had returned to India, mainly because of skill mismatch and language barriers [3]. Israel responded with flexibility. In September 2024, the Israeli Embassy in New Delhi said Israel was satisfied with the construction workers who had arrived under the bilateral agreements, and that PIBA had allowed workers who asked to register for industrial work [12].

Safety, Rights and Consular Support (March 2024 to June 2025)

The framework sets out workers' rights. According to the Ministry of Labour, Indian workers are entitled to the same labour rights as Israeli citizens, along with proper lodging, medical insurance and relevant social security coverage [10]. The Indian Embassy in Israel runs a 24-hour helpline and makes frequent consular visits to check on workers' safety and well-being [3]. The war has reached Indian workers directly. On 4 March 2024, Pat Nibin Maxwell of Kollam, Kerala, was killed when an anti-tank guided missile fired from Lebanon struck an orchard near Margaliot. The Israeli Embassy in India expressed condolences, and Ambassador Gilon said he had spoken with Maxwell's brother [13]. Israel's Interior Minister Moshe Arbel, the Director General of PIBA, Israeli foreign ministry officials and Indian diplomats attended a memorial ceremony before his remains were flown to India [14]. The Indian Embassy advised Indian nationals in the northern and southern border areas to move to safer parts of Israel [13]. The Ministry told Parliament that the embassy works with Israeli authorities to secure medical treatment for the injured and compensation for victims [11]. Israeli agencies have also intervened to protect Indian workers. In March 2025, PIBA, working with the Israel Defense Forces and the Justice Ministry, recovered 10 Indian construction workers from the West Bank village of al-Zaayem. Palestinians had lured the workers there with promises of jobs and taken their passports [15]. During the Israel–Iran conflict of June 2025, India offered evacuation to nationals who wished to leave. The Israel leg of Operation Sindhu began on 23 June, and 818 Indian nationals were evacuated from Israel [16]. Five weeks later, the Ministry recorded about 20,000 Indian workers in Israel.

The Special Strategic Partnership and the 50,000 Quota (February 2026 to Present)

Labour mobility was part of the agenda when Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a state visit to Israel on 25 and 26 February 2026. The two prime ministers raised the relationship to a Special Strategic Partnership for Peace, Innovation and Prosperity. They recognised the contribution of Indian workers in Israel and agreed that up to 50,000 additional Indian workers may arrive within the next five years. They also asked the bilateral Joint Coordination Committee to meet often and settle outstanding worker issues quickly [17]. The visit also widened the sectors open to Indian workers. The list of documents exchanged included Implementation Protocol C to the employment agreement, which covers the commerce and services sector [17]. The published outcomes also gave Indian workers wider access to jobs in Israel's manufacturing and food service sectors [18]. The 2026 quota therefore builds on the 2023 framework in three ways. It adds a fixed five-year horizon, it extends recruitment beyond construction and caregiving, and it gives a standing joint committee responsibility for resolving worker grievances. Official counts of arrivals under the 2026 quota were not found in Indian parliamentary answers or Israeli government releases at the time of writing.

In One Paragraph

Indian labour migration to Israel moved from a caregiving flow of about 18,000 people to a state-managed programme covering construction, care and, from 2026, commerce, services and manufacturing. The May 2023 framework provided for 42,000 workers, and its November 2023 protocols became the main channel for replacing Palestinian labour after 7 October 2023. By 1 July 2025, 6,774 workers had arrived under the G2G framework and about 13,400 through private channels, for a total of roughly 20,000. The framework guarantees labour rights equal to those of Israeli citizens, and both governments have handled deaths, rescues and evacuations jointly. In February 2026, Prime Ministers Modi and Netanyahu agreed that up to 50,000 more Indian workers may arrive by 2031.

Sources

1. Sharma, Ashok. “Dozens of Construction Workers from India Depart Country for Jobs in Israel.” PBS NewsHour (Associated Press), April 4, 2024.https://www.pbs.org/newshour/world/dozens-of-construction-workers-from-india-depart-country-for-jobs-in-israel.
2. Lazareva, Inna. “‘Modern Slavery’: How Foreign Caregivers in Israel Have Been Extorted for Decades.” Times of Israel, February 2023.https://www.timesofisrael.com/modern-slavery-how-foreign-caregivers-in-israel-have-been-extorted-for-decades/.
3. India. Ministry of External Affairs. “Question No. 2202: Safety of Indian Workers in Israel.” Lok Sabha Unstarred Question, answered August 1, 2025.https://www.mea.gov.in/lok-sabha?dtl/39921/QUESTION_NO_2202_SAFETY_OF_INDIAN_WORKERS_IN_ISRAEL.
4. “Israel, India Ink Agreement to Allow 42,000 Indian Workers to Work in Jewish State.” Deccan Herald (PTI), May 9, 2023.https://www.deccanherald.com/national/israel-india-ink-agreement-to-allow-42000-indian-workers-to-work-in-jewish-state-1217230.html.
5. Petersburg, Ofer. “History on the Knesset Table: Will 40k Indian Workers Come to Israel?” Jerusalem Post, November 2023.https://www.jpost.com/business-and-innovation/real-estate/article-774021.
6. “Amid Worker Shortage Due to War, Israeli Constructors Struggle to Build.” Times of Israel, 2023. Accessed October 5, 2026.https://www.timesofisrael.com/amid-worker-shortage-israeli-builders-struggle-to-repair-war-damage/.
7. Bank of Israel. “Chapter 5: The Labor Market.” In Bank of Israel Annual Report 2024. Jerusalem: Bank of Israel, March 2025. Page 1.https://boi.org.il/media/50ocla0d/chep-5-e-2024.pdf.
8. “64 Indians Fly to Israel ‘under G2G Agreement’ to Fill Construction Job Vacancies Left by Palestinians.” ThePrint, April 2, 2024.https://theprint.in/diplomacy/64-indians-fly-to-israel-under-g2g-agreement-to-fill-construction-job-vacancies-left-by-palestinians/2025531/.
9. “Israel Seeks 15,000 Skilled Indian Workers in Second Round of Recruitment Drive.” Swarajya, September 2024.https://swarajyamag.com/news-brief/israel-seeks-15000-skilled-indian-workers-in-second-round-of-recruitment-drive.
10. All India Radio News. “4,825 Indian Workers Deployed in Israel; No Objections from Central Trade Unions.” News Services Division, Prasar Bharati, July 22, 2024.https://www.newsonair.gov.in/4825-indian-workers-deployed-in-israel-no-objections-from-central-trade-unions.
11. “Under Framework Agreement, 6,774 Indian Workers Went to Israel for Work as of July 1: Govt.” Deccan Herald (PTI), August 7, 2025.https://www.deccanherald.com/india/under-framework-agreement-6774-indian-workers-went-to-israel-for-work-as-of-july-1-govt-3671407.
12. “Israel Expecting Another Group of Over 1000 Indian Construction Workers.” ETV Bharat, September 12, 2024.https://www.etvbharat.com/en/!international/israel-expecting-another-group-of-over-1000-indian-construction-workers-enn24091204123.
13. “Indian Worker Killed in Hezbollah Missile Attack Leaves Behind Daughter, Pregnant Wife.” Times of Israel, March 5, 2024.https://www.timesofisrael.com/indian-worker-killed-in-hezbollah-missile-attack-leaves-behind-daughter-pregnant-wife/.
14. “Mortal Remains of Indian Worker Killed in Anti-Missile Attack on Israel's North to Leave for India.” The Tribune (PTI), March 7, 2024.https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/india/mortal-remains-of-indian-worker-killed-in-anti-missile-attack-on-israels-north-to-leave-for-india-598240.
15. “Israel Rescues 10 Indian Construction Workers from West Bank.” The Tribune (ANI), March 7, 2025.https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/world/israel-rescues-10-indian-construction-workers-from-west-bank.
16. DD News. “Operation Sindhu: Over 4,400 Indians Evacuated from Iran and Israel, Says MEA.” Prasar Bharati, June 27, 2025.https://ddnews.gov.in/en/operation-sindhu-over-4400-indians-evacuated-from-iran-and-israel-says-mea/.
17. India. Prime Minister's Office. “India–Israel Joint Statement: A Special Strategic Partnership for Peace, Innovation, and Prosperity.” Press Information Bureau, February 26, 2026.https://www.pmindia.gov.in/en/news_updates/india-israel-joint-statement/.
18. “India, Israel Agree to Increase Indian Foreign Workers in Israel by 50,000 in the Next Five Years.” Jerusalem Post, February 26, 2026.https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-888150. ** **