Amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, India has launched a mission – Operation Ajay to rescue the stranded Indians stuck in Israel. On Thursday night, the first charter flight to facilitate the return of citizens from Ben Gurion airport. Now, at least 212 Indian nationals have landed at IGI Airport in Delhi early Friday on a first come first served basis.Indians returned to Delhi under 1st flight of Operation Ajay todayUpon the arrival of the stranded citizens in Delhi, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekar said, “…Our government will never leave any Indian behind. Our government, our Prime Minister is determined to protect them and bring them back home safely. We are grateful to EAM Dr S Jaishankar, the team at the External Affairs Ministry, the flight crew of this Air India flight for making this possible, for bringing our children back home safely and soundly and back home to their loved ones…”#WATCH | Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar says, …Our government will never leave any Indian behind. Our government, our Prime Minister is determined to protect them, bring them back home safely. We are grateful to EAM Dr S Jaishankar, the team at the External Affairs… https://t.co/XPUDlnv3Lf pic.twitter.com/kZuaKmIYSY— ANI (@ANI) October 13, 2023 About Operation AjayNotably, this flight was arranged to facilitate the return of those who were unable to do so because Air India had immediately suspended its flight on the day fighting began on October 7, and its commercial operation remains suspended till now.Moreover, the Indian government is bearing the flight cost of those who returned. There was a long queue of Indians, including students at the airport to board the special flight operated under Operation Ajay from Tel Aviv.After arrival, an Indian national who returned from Israel said, “This is the first time that we are facing this situation over there. We are very thankful to the Indian government, especially Prime Minister Narendra Modi for bringing us back. We are hoping for peace as soon as possible so that we can go back to work as earliest as possible…”#WATCH | Delhi: An Indian national who returned from Israel says, This is the first time that we are facing this situation over there. We are very thankful to the Indian government, especially Prime Minister Narendra Modi for bringing us back. We are hoping for peace as soon as… https://t.co/XPUDlnv3Lf pic.twitter.com/Fu10lZ7DHc— ANI (@ANI) October 13, 2023 Speaking to news agency PTI, Shubham Kumar, a student in Israel said, “We are thankful to India… Most of the students were a little bit panicked. Suddenly we saw some notifications and links for every Indian citizen through the embassy of India which boosted our morale. We felt like the embassy of India was connected with us which was a kind of relief to us. And then we got all the arrangements.”#WATCH | Delhi: Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar interacts with the Indian nationals evacuated from Israel pic.twitter.com/itSzrwY4OD— ANI (@ANI) October 13, 2023 Israel-Hamas conflictIsrael has vowed an unprecedented offensive against the Hamas group in the Gaza Strip after its fighters broke through the border fence and stormed into the countrys south through air, land and sea on October 7.On the sixth day, the Israeli military said more than 1,300 people, including 222 soldiers, were killed in Israel, a staggering toll unseen since the 1973 war with Egypt and Syria that lasted weeks.In the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip, at least 1,500 people, including women and children, have been killed, according to Palestinians.Meanwhile, the Indian embassy had emailed the first lot of registered Indian citizens for the special flight, the mission posted on X. “Messages to other registered people will follow for subsequent flights,” it said.
