Indians queuing in long lines for jobs in Israel as the war with Hamas grinds on say the risks to their safety are preferable to hunger at home.
Indian tile designer Deepak Kumar said it was a matter of "work for four days, eat for two days."
Kumar said he followed the news and knew the risks.
"I will smile and take a bullet -- but will take 150,000 rupees (1,700 euros)", he added.
While India is the world's fifth-largest economy and one of the fastest growing, it has struggled to produce enough full-time and well-paying jobs for millions of people.
Over the same period, nearly 22 percent of India's workforce was classified as "casual labor," with average monthly wages of a paltry 7,899 rupees (88 euros), according to government figures.
For the hundreds of Indians in line, almost all men, the chance of a skilled construction job in Israel -- and wages up to 18 times higher -- outweighs their fears.
"If it is written in our fate to die, we'll die there -- at least our kids will get something," said motorbike mechanic Jabbar Singh, among the packed crowd at a training center and recruitment site in Lucknow.
10,000 workers
The Indian embassy in Tel Aviv says there are about 18,000 Indian citizens in Israel, "primarily caregivers" looking after the elderly, as well as others employed as diamond traders and IT professionals. Some are students.
But recruiters have launched a fresh drive for job seekers.
Raj Kumar Yadav, head of Lucknow's Industrial Training Institute, said they were facilitating recruiters from Israel looking for 10,000 skilled construction workers who could earn as much as 140,000 rupees (1,550 euros) a month.
"They will give them the visa and take the people with them on a chartered plane," he said, adding that "10,000 families will be fed well and will grow".
The Indian authority supports the program, he noted.
As the men queued in Lucknow, about 4,500 kilometers away, Israel stepped up its assault in the Gazan city of Khan Yunis, southern the Gaza Strip.
Thai and Nepali farm workers were among those killed and taken hostage in the war that has been ongoing since October 7.
That provoked fear among foreign workers, many of whom fled, stripping the farm sector of a key source of labor.
Israel has also withdrawn 130,000 work permits from Palestinians.
"There is no work here, so I will have to work somewhere," father of two Keshav Das told AFP. "I know I am going in the red zone. But I have to feed my family, so I will have to go out. Otherwise, my kids will die hungry."
