Israel-Hamas war: India launches 'Operation Ajay' to bring back its citizens stranded in Israel
'Operation Ajay' launched: India launched 'Operation Ajay' on Wednesday to bring back its nationals who have been stranded in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas.
"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," External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on X.
Meanwhile, the Indian Embassy in Israel said that the first batch of registered Indian citizens for the special flight on Thursday has been emailed.
"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 said.
India's previous evacuation operations
This is not the first time India has launched such operations to evacuate its nationals from conflict zones, pandemics, and natural calamities.
Previously, it had undertaken a 'multi-pronged' operation called 'Operation Ganga' to aid in evacuating approximately 20,000 Indians, including students, from Ukraine.
India launched the Vande Bharat Mission to return Indian citizens who were stuck abroad during the COVID-19 outbreak. Around 60 lakh Indians were brought back during the operation's various stages.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, 3,992 Indians were brought back from overseas through the naval operation Operation Samudra Setu.
- ANI
