On Friday morning, the first charter flight carrying Indian nationals who were left behind in Israel due to the ongoing conflict touched down in New Delhi. Under “Operation Ajay,” the aircraft, which was carrying 212 Indian people, including a baby, took off from Ben Gurion airport in Israel on Thursday night. The passengers were reportedly selected on a “first come, first served” basis.
Rajeev Chandrashekar, a union minister, is pictured at the airport greeting the Indian citizens.
#WATCH | Operation Ajay: First flight carrying 212 Indian nationals from Israel, lands in Delhi pic.twitter.com/iwT9ugIREP
— ANI (@ANI) October 13, 2023
“Operation Ajay gets underway,” External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar tweeted on Thursday night along with images of the first residents to be returned home on X, formerly known as Twitter. The plane carrying 212 citizens is currently travelling to New Delhi.
#OperationAjay gets underway.
212 citizens onboard the flight are enroute New Delhi. pic.twitter.com/fGSAYiXbBA
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (Modi Ka Parivar) (@DrSJaishankar) October 12, 2023
Operation Ajay was initiated by the government on Wednesday in an attempt to rescue residents who were left behind in Israel, a country that is currently engaged in intense conflict with Hamas. This happened after other airlines, including Air India, ceased all commercial flights to and from Israel on October 7, the day the war broke out.
“Starting #OperationAjay to help our citizens who want to return from Israel return. Putting in place special charter flights and other plans Completely dedicated to ensuring the security and welfare of our citizens overseas,” S Jaishankar declared on X.
The Indians will be returned by special chartered flights as part of this operation, and Indian Navy ships will be sent into action if necessary.
Remarkably, there are over 18,000 Indians in Israel who work as professionals, traders, and students.
To keep an eye on the situation in Israel and Palestine, the ministry of external affairs has established a 24-hour control room in the nation’s capital. The control room’s email address is situationroom@mea.gov.in, and its phone numbers are 1800118797 (toll free), +91-11 23012113, +91-11-23014104, +91-11-23017905, and +919968291988.
The email address cons1.telaviv@mea.gov.in and the phone numbers +972-35226748 and +972-543278392 are additional ways to reach the Indian embassy’s round-the-clock emergency hotline.
The Israel-Hamas war
On Friday, the conflict between Israel and Hamas entered its seventh day, and more escalation is anticipated. As of the most recent figures, 423,000 people have been forced to evacuate their homes, and over 2,800 people have died on both sides.
The delicate Al-Aqsa Mosque, which is revered by both Muslims and Jews, is the subject of a long-running controversy, which the Hamas militants used as justification for their surprise attack on Israel on Saturday. The Israeli military is conducting almost continual airstrikes in retaliation for the Hamas onslaught.
Israel stated on Thursday that while they are getting ready for a potential ground operation in Gaza, the political leadership has not yet made a decision.
