Workers from South Asia are heading to Israel, whose need for work has become even more urgent since the Hamas-led offensive in October.
The Israeli government has closed crossings from the West Bank, cutting thousands of Palestinians out of work, and many of the foreign workers Israel relies on to run its farms and construction industry. Most of the approximately 30,000 foreign agricultural workers in Israel were from Thailand, dozens of whom were kidnapped or killed in October.
In the coming weeks, thousands of people from India and Sri Lanka will be sent to Israel, officials of the three countries said, as part of labor supply agreements, primarily in construction, healthcare and agriculture. Both India and Sri Lanka are experiencing high unemployment rates, and officials said they had received thousands of applications for construction jobs in Israel.
Mukesh Ranjan, a construction worker in the northern Indian state of Haryana, said that despite the danger posed by the war in Gaza, he and dozens of others from his village applied for construction jobs through a state government agency, which said it had received more than 2,500 applications.
Mr. Ranjan said that if selected, he would use the wages to pay for a better education for his two teenage daughters and to pay off debts incurred due to losses on his farm.
"I'll take the opportunity,"he said.
Indian media reported that the recruitment is part of a deal struck in May between India and Israel that would grant permits to 42,000 Indian workers. About 34,000 construction workers and 8,000 healthcare workers will be employed.
About 10,000 Sri Lankan workers are already working in Israel, primarily as caregivers in the healthcare sector. Bandula Gunawardena, a Sri Lankan government minister, said that the country concluded an agreement with Israel in November to send more agricultural workers and that the first group had already traveled there.
Israeli officials have said that the recruitment in South Asia is not aimed at filling the gap left by Palestinian workers but is part of filling the current quotas for foreign labor.
Enbal mashash, director of the foreign workers department at the Israel population and Immigration Authority, said that the Israeli economy is under pressure due to the departure of foreign workers, the call-up of more Israeli reservists for military service and restrictions on the entry of Palestinians from the West Bank.
"There is no doubt that the economy is experiencing some kind of crisis at the moment in terms of the workforce,"he said.
Representatives of the Israel Builders Association, a private organization, said that they are screening workers in India for construction jobs, and that checks will soon begin in Sri Lanka, where thousands have applied.
Shai Posner, deputy director of the Builders Association, said that before October 7, about 80,000 Palestinian workers were employed in the construction industry in Israel. They were joined by 18,000 foreigners from Eastern Europe and China, and another 200,000 Israelis.
Overall, the number of Palestinian workers entering Israel from the West Bank per day fell to almost 8,000 from 124,000 before October 7, said Shani Sasson, a spokeswoman for COGAT, the Israeli Defense Agency that oversees policy on the Palestinian Territories.
In India, there is some opposition to working in Israel. The country under Prime Minister Narendra Modi came closer to Israel, with which it now shares extensive defense ties, but has also long supported Palestinian rights.
Hemalata, the president of the construction workers Federation of India, said she was concerned that Israel was using Indian workers to deprive Palestinians. "We are completely against this,"she said.
But Ms. mashash, from the Israeli Immigration Authority, said that foreign workers "do not replace Palestinian workers," whose work permits have not been canceled.
