[9][10] The building was one of the sites of the November 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks and six of its occupants, including Holtzberg and his wife, who was six months pregnant, were killed.

The Chabad house, located at 5 Hormusji Street, Colaba,[11] is one of eight synagogues in Mumbai[12] and has been described as the epicentre of the Jewish community in the city.

[16] The Holtzbergs also ran a synagogue and taught Torah classes, in addition to the rabbi conducting weddings for local Jewish couples.

[17] Three flights a week bring hundreds of Israeli travelers from Israel to Mumbai; in an interview, Holtzberg said he understood the nature of their needs.

Born in Israel but having grown up in Brooklyn, Holtzberg said that the travelers "[needed] relief from the army, from work, from real life".

[20] Later, Chabad spokesman in Israel, Moni Ender, said that there were at least eight Israelis inside the house, including Rabbi Gavriel Holtzberg and his wife, Rivka.

[23][25] The rabbi's two-year-old son Moshe was rescued by his nanny,[25] Sandra Samuel, who had worked for the centre for the previous five years.

[26][29][30] Later, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said that the eight people seen near Chabad House were not Jewish hostages but local Indians from a home in the same compound.

[4] Early on 28 November a large blast was heard at the centre as fighting continued,[31] even though other sources were reporting that the building was under the control of Indian special forces.

Most of the operation was broadcast live on television as news footage showed troops abseiling from a helicopter into the building and soldiers on the ground closing in.

According to ZAKA members,[clarification needed] at least one hostage, Holtzberg, might have been killed in the crossfire when the commandos moved in; this was rejected by government authorities as stories and irresponsible comments.

[43] A handout provided by Indian police identified the two attackers killed at Nariman House as Nasir (alias Abu Umar) and Babar Imaran.

As emissaries to Mumbai, Gabi and Rivky gave up the comforts of the West in order to spread Jewish pride in a corner of the world that was a frequent stop for throngs of Israeli tourists.