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Operation 'Ajay': 1st flight carrying 212 Indians stranded in Israel arrives in Delhi
Israel-Hamas war: The first charter flight to repatriate Indian citizens stranded in Israel amid the ongoing war arrived in New Delhi on Friday morning.
The first charter flight to repatriate Indian citizens stranded in Israel amid the ongoing war arrived in New Delhi on Friday morning. The flight - carrying 212 Indian passengers including an infant - took off on Thursday night from the Ben Gurion airport in Israel under ‘Operation Ajay’. According to reports, the passengers were chosen on a ‘first come first serve’ basis.
In a video shared by news agency ANI, union minister Rajeev Chandrashekar can be seen present at the airport to receive the Indian nationals.
On Thursday night, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar shared pictures of the first repatriation of the stranded citizens on X, formerly known as Twitter saying: “Operation Ajay gets underway. 212 citizens onboard the flight are enroute New Delhi.”
The government launched ‘Operation Ajay’ on Wednesday to bring back stranded citizens from Israel - which is witnessing fierce fighting with the terrorist group Hamas. This came after Air India and other airlines suspended all its commercial operations to and from Israel as the war began on October 7.
“Launching #OperationAjay to facilitate the return from Israel of our citizens who wish to return. Special charter flights and other arrangements being put in place Fully committed to the safety and well-being of our nationals abroad,” S Jaishankar had announced on X.
Read more: Tech companies in Israel may shift operations to India, other locations if war escalates: Report
Under this operation, special chartered flights will bring back the Indians, and the Indian Navy ships will also be deployed if the need arises.
Notably, there are around 18,000 Indians in Israel including students, professionals, and traders.
Meanwhile, the ministry of external affairs has set up a 24-hour control room in the national capital to monitor the situation in Israel and Palestine. The phone numbers for the control room are: 1800118797 (toll free), +91-11 23012113, +91-11-23014104, +91-11-23017905 and +919968291988, while the email ID is situationroom@mea.gov.in.
The Indian embassy’s 24-hour emergency helpline can also be accessed on the numbers +972-35226748 and +972-543278392, and the email ID cons1.telaviv@mea.gov.in.
The Israel-Hamas war
The war between Israel and Hamas entered its seventh day on Friday and is expected to escalate further. According to the latest reports, over 2,800 people from both sides have been killed so far, while 423,000 people have been forced to flee their homes.
The Hamas militants launched a surprise attack on Israel on Saturday citing a long-running dispute over the sensitive Al-Aqsa Mosque that is sacred to both Muslims and Jews. The Israeli military is retaliating for the Hamas attack with near-constant airstrikes.
On Thursday, Israel said that they are preparing for a possible ground operation in Gaza but that political leadership has not yet decided on one.
