India announced it ‘Operation Ajay’ in order to facilitate the return of the stranded Indians, who wish to come back to their home as a series of multiple attacks on Israeli towns by the militant group of Hamas. The ongoing war has claimed over thousands of lives in both the regions of Israel and Gaza. Israel has already announced its revenge in the form of massive military airstrikes on the Hamas militant troops headquartered in Gaza.
S Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister who is on a visit to Sri Lanka made an announcement of launching ‘Operation Ajay’ over a post on platform X during the late hours of Wednesday. He wrote: “Launching #OperationAjay to facilitate the return from Israel of our citizens who wish to return.” He also added by saying that there have been multiple arrangements made for special charter flights and other communications of transport are being put in place as soon as possible. We are fully committed to the safety and well-being of our nationals abroad. The first batch of Indians are expected to arrive from Israel in a special flight which will land in India on Thursday.
According to some estimates, there are over 18,000 Indians who are currently residing in Israel. It is consequently reported by the Israeli authorities that more than 1200 people, including 155 soldiers, have been killed in Israel while the death toll has mounted up to 950 in Gaza. On Wednesday, Jaishaknkar discussed the ‘crisis’ calamity in West Asia by having a conversation with the Foreign Minister of UAE. He also said that he had agreed to stay in touch with the officials. Following the escalation over the war-stricken country, the Indian Embassy present in Israel had issued an advisory, asking all the stranded Indian citizens to exercise caution near them. The Indian nationals in Israel are requested to remain vigilant and observe safety protocols as advised by the local authorities.
