As the conflict escalates between the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) and Hamas terrorists, India is initiating efforts to safely repatriate its citizens from the conflict zone.
The Union Ministry of External Affairs has introduced ‘Operation Ajay’ to facilitate the return of Indian citizens from Israel. Union Minister for External Affairs, S Jaishankar, revealed these plans through his announcement on X. He shared that special charter flights and other necessary arrangements are being coordinated to ensure the safe return of Indian citizens.
“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 said in the post.
In response to S Jaishankar’s post, the Indian Embassy in Israel announced that they have already sent emails to the initial group of registered Indian citizens scheduled for the special flight to start from today. “The Embassy has emailed the first lot of registered Indian citizens for the special flight tomorrow. Messages to other registered people will follow for subsequent flights,” the Indian embassy in Israel said.
Operation Ajay’ comes as around 18,000 Indians are currently in Israel many of whom are in the conflict zones. The Indian Embassy in Tel Aviv was getting continued requests from Indians including tourists, who wanted an exit from the country after Hamas-backed terrorists barged into Israeli territory and started their onslaught against civilians. The announcement has come days after Air India suspended its service in the Delhi-Tel Aviv route as Hamas carried out a crippling attack on Israel last Saturday.
Earlier, the Ministry had also informed that a 24-hour Control Room has been set up at the Embassy of India in Israel. In addition, 24-hour emergency helplines have been set up to monitor the situation and provide information and assistance.
This will be the second evacuation this year, after Operation Kaveri that brought back several thousand Indian citizens from conflict-torn Sudan in April-May.