Israel-Hamas war: First batch of Indian passengers to board flight back to India under Operation Ajay

Tel Aviv [Israel]: In the wake of Israel-Hamas war, the first batch of Indian passengers is set to board a flight from Tel Aviv to India under Operation Ajay on Thursday.

In Tel Aviv passengers were seen boarding a special chartered flight started by India’s Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) to bring back passengers from Israel.

On the occasion, Indian Ambassador to Israel, Sanjeev Singla said that the Indian Embassy in Israel is working to ensure the wellbeing of Indian nationals in war-torn Israel and informed that the under “Operation Ajay” the embassy will help Indians who want to return back to India.

“As I said yesterday, the Embassy of India in Tel Aviv has been working continuously to ensure the safety and welfare of all our Indian citizens in Israel. Yesterday, the external affairs minister announced Operation Ajay to help those Indians who wish to return to India. And today, under Operation Ajay, the first flight is going back to India,” he said.

He also went on to mention that about 200 Indians will board the first flight to India and one more flight is scheduled for the same under “Operation Ajay”.

He added, “It’s going to have almost 200 Indian citizens – students, caregivers, and business professionals, and we are trying to ensure that we have a similar flight in the coming days. We will have, one flight tomorrow…I would like to reach out to my fellow Indian citizens here and urge them to remain calm and stay safe by following the local safety advisories and I want to tell them that we’re always there with them. We are standing with them.”

In an exclusive interview with media, an Indian citizen returning back to India in the first flight from Tel Aviv thanked the Indian government for assisting in the tough times and asserted that they have got a lot of help through “Operation Ajay”.

Another passenger onboard, Ashwini Kumar Sharma said, “I had come here as my daughter is pursuing her PhD from Israel. Our flights were cancelled due to the war-like situation. We then learned about ‘Operation Ajay’ and contacted the Indian Embassy. PM Modi is the best.”

Earlier today, External Affairs Ministry Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said, “As announced by EAM yesterday, Operation Ajay has been launched to facilitate the return from Israel of our citizens who wish to come back.

The first chartered flight will be reaching Tel Aviv later tonight to pick up the Indian citizens and is likely to return to India tomorrow morning,” the external affairs ministry spokesperson said while addressing a media briefing here today.”We are keeping a close watch on the situation in Israel.”

The MEA spokesperson also said that there were no Indian casualties so far.”We haven’t heard of any casualty so far,” he said.”Around 18,000 Indians are in Israel. There is conflict going on and it is a matter of concern. Indians advised to follow advisories issued by our mission,” Bagchi said.

“Operation Ajay” was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bring back around 18,000 Indians in Israel who wanted amidst the war between Hamas and Israel. Registration of Indians began on Thursday.

The Indian embassy in Israel is providing assistance to Indian companies and has set up a helpline for Indian citizens in need of assistance.

Yesterday, the MEA had set up a 24-hour control room in view of the escalating conflict. The control room will help monitor the situation and provide information and assistance.
Earlier today, the External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar chaired a meeting to review preparations for “Operation Ajay”.

Meanwhile, Israeli Defence Forces said that Hamas brought ISIS flags to Israel when they had infiltrated various parts of South Israel last weekend.

In a post shared on X, Israeli Defence Forces stated, “Hamas brought ISIS flags to massacre Israeli children, women and men. Hamas is a genocidal terrorist organization. Hamas is worse than ISIS.”

The death toll in Israel since the Hamas attack on October 7 has jumped to 1,300 and some 3300 have been injured, including 28 in critical condition and 350 in serious condition, The Times of Israel reported citing Hebrew media reports.

The fate of an estimated 150 people abducted and taken to the Gaza Strip during the attack by Hamas is still unclear, the report said.

Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said the military has so far notified families of 97 hostages who were being held by terrorists in the Gaza Strip, The Times of Israel reported.