Nov. 28 (Bloomberg) -- The Israeli Foreign Ministry said it is monitoring an operation by Indian security forces to free hostages held at the Chabad-Lubavitcher Center in Mumbai.

“We have word of an rescue operation taking place, but no information of any hostages being freed or released yet,” said Andy David, deputy spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, in a phone interview.

David said that 21 of the country’s citizens in India are unaccounted for and may be among the hostages being held in Mumbai by gunmen after a series of attacks in the Indian city left 121 people dead.

David denied reports that Israel has sent a military commando team to India to assist in the security operations there, and said only Israeli medical personnel trained to handle emergency situations have been sent to Mumbai.

Several Israelis, including a rabbi and his wife, were taken hostage at the Chabad-Lubavitcher Center.

Israeli television broadcast pictures today taken from an Indian television station in which a person inside the center is waving from a window what appears to be an Israeli flag.

Yesterday, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said they had received reports that an Israeli woman being held captive at the center had delivered demands by phone from her captors for the release of prisoners.

Menachem Brod, a spokesman in Israel for the Brooklyn-based Hassidic group, said he didn’t know exactly how many Israelis were being held hostage, nor how many gunmen were in the building, one of thousands of centers the organization runs worldwide to promote religious educational outreach to Jews.

He identified the rabbi and his wife as Gavriel and Rivka Holtzberg. He said the rabbi has dual Israeli and American citizenship and that his wife is Israeli.

According to the Chabad Web site, the group has 13 centers across India, a favorite destination for many young Israelis who travel there after completing their military service.

To contact the reporters on this story: Calev Ben-David in Jerusalem at cbendavid@bloomberg.net; Peter Hirschberg in Jerusalem at phirschberg@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: November 28, 2008 03:30 EST