India: Holtzberg toddler reunites with grandparents

Shimon and Yehudit Rosenberg, the parents of Rivka Holtzberg, who is currently being held hostage at the Chabad center in Mumbai with her husband Gavriel, arrived in the Indian city early Friday morning with a delegation of the Zaka organization.

Rabbi Yitzhak David Grossman told Ynet that the two were reunited wit their two-year-old grandson, Moshe Tzvi, who was rescued from the house by his Indian nanny the day before.

Moshe Tzvi was supposed to celebrate his second birthday today, but the family decided to postpone the celebration because of the difficult events, and the grandparents are hoping that they would be able to mark the occasion with the parents.

Little Moshe Tzvi Holtzberg with his nanny (Photo: Amy Ginsburg, Yedioth Ahronoth's reporter in Mumbai)

According to Grossman, "The reunion was very moving. They were later briefed by representatives of the Consulate on the situation at the Chabad house in recent hours.

"We are all praying to receive news that the fighting is over, and hope to see Gavriel and Rivka again safe and sound, along with the other hostages," he added.

The Rosenbergs left for India with a Zaka delegation that includes a doctor, a paramedic and four medics.

Searching for Israeli casualties

Israel's ambassador to India Mark Sofer flew from New Delhi to Mumbai on Friday, to extend help to the personnel at the Consulate who have not slept for more than a day. "The situation at the Chabad center is still developing," Sofer told Ynet. "We have three people positioned as close to the place as possible, but right now it is hard to determine what's going on."

Sofer said that following the evacuation of the Oberoi Hotel in the city, the Israeli mission is making efforts to establish whether there are Israelis among the evacuees. "It is very likely that there were Israelis there," he stated. "This is a central hotel in Mumbai, where people not only stay, but also come to dine or attend other functions."

According to Sofer, the Israeli envoys in Mumbai, Israel's military attaché, the Zaka delegation and doctors from the Rambam Medical Center are going from hospital to hospital trying to locate Israeli casualties. The consulate is also receiving constant updates from local authorities and the police.