New Delhi: The first charter flight carrying 212 Indian nationals took off from the Ben Gurion airport in war-torn Israel on Thursday evening at 22.14 local time. The flight touched down at Delhi airport today. Under the drive launched by the Indian embassy, the charter flight was arranged after Air India halted its commercial operations following the raging conflict between Israel and Hamas.
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#OperationAjay gets underway.
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) October 12, 2023 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
212 citizens onboard the flight are enroute New Delhi. pic.twitter.com/fGSAYiXbBA
">#OperationAjay gets underway.
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) October 12, 2023
212 citizens onboard the flight are enroute New Delhi. pic.twitter.com/fGSAYiXbBA#OperationAjay gets underway.
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) October 12, 2023
212 citizens onboard the flight are enroute New Delhi. pic.twitter.com/fGSAYiXbBA
Union Minister Rajeev Chandrashekar was present at the airport and received the Indian nationals who arrived from Israel. The operation came in response to the escalating crisis in Israel following multi-pronged attacks by Hamas from Gaza since Saturday that have left more than 2,500 people dead. Israel has launched a massive counter-offensive in Gaza to avenge the attacks by Hamas.
Earlier on Wednesday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who is currently on a visit to Sri Lanka, in an X (formerly Twitter) post, announced bringing back the Indians into the conflict zone and added special charter flights and other arrangements were being put in place. There are also about 1,000 students, several IT professionals, and diamond traders.
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#WATCH | Delhi: Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar interacts with the Indian nationals evacuated from Israel pic.twitter.com/itSzrwY4OD
— ANI (@ANI) October 13, 2023 " class="align-text-top noRightClick twitterSection" data="
">#WATCH | Delhi: Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar interacts with the Indian nationals evacuated from Israel pic.twitter.com/itSzrwY4OD
— ANI (@ANI) October 13, 2023#WATCH | Delhi: Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar interacts with the Indian nationals evacuated from Israel pic.twitter.com/itSzrwY4OD
— ANI (@ANI) October 13, 2023
Meanwhile, the Indian Embassy in Israel issued an advisory as early as Wednesday, wherein it urged Indian nationals living in the war-torn nation "to register themselves with the Embassy of India, Tel Aviv, and Israel". In a video message, the Indian Ambassador to Israel, Sanjeev Singla, assured desperate people to stay calm and follow the guidelines issued by the local authorities, and contact the emergency numbers of the embassy in case of trouble.
On the other hand, addressing the weekly media briefing, MEA Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, "First flight from India to Tel Aviv will reach later today. The flight will bring Indian nationals. It is expected to get 230 passengers on board". When asked about India's stand on the current conflict between Israel and Palestine, Bagchi said, "There is a universal obligation to observe international humanitarian law. There is also a global responsibility to fight the menace of terrorism in all its forms & manifestations."
On the evacuation process, the MEA said in a statement: "Registration with the Embassy will facilitate any measures that need to be taken in a situation of emergency or if such a need arises. It will also facilitate information availability about various events through our emailing network." The embassy has been working constantly to help our fellow citizens in Israel through a 24-hour helpline. Please remain calm, vigilant and follow the security advisories, it added.
