Operation Ajay: Flight Carrying 212 Indians from Strife-torn Israel Lands in Delhi

The first flight carrying 212 Indians stranded in Israel as part of rescue mission Operation Ajay landed at the Delhi airport in the early hours of Friday morning. The flight left from the Ben Gurion airport on Thursday evening.

The flights have been arranged to help people return from Israel after they were stuck there amid the Israel-Hamas conflict because Air India immediately suspended its flights on the day fighting began on October 7, and its commercial operation remains suspended till now.

People familiar with the developments also told CNN-News18 that the first phase of flights will be operational till October 18, helping Indians who want to depart Israel return home.

The returnees from Israel were greeted in the Indira Gandhi International Airport by Union minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar, as seen in a video shared by news outlet ANI on social media site X.

A father whose daughter is studying in Israel thanked the government for arranging her return. “I have full confidence in my External Affairs Minister and PM Modi. My daughter is completing her Ph.D in Israel. She is strong and safe. She is returning with this first batch. We have been in touch. (When) things will (return to) normal and she will return to study again,” a resident from Uttar Pradesh’s Etah told CNN-News18.

Union minister Chandrashekhar said that the government will not leave any Indian behind. “Our government will never leave any Indian behind. Our government, our Prime Minister, is determined to protect them, bring them back home safely. We are grateful to EAM Dr S Jaishankar, the team at the External Affairs Ministry, the flight crew of this Air India flight for making this possible, for bringing our children back home safely and soundly and back home to their loved ones,” he told the news outlet.

There are around 18,000 Indians, including students, in Israel, the external affairs ministry said this week.

The Israeli government has told Indian authorities that it will do its best to help authorities during Operation Ajay. “There are around 18,000 Indian citizens in Israel, including 1,000 students whom we love very much. The Indian business community, whom we love and respect very much, contribute to our economy in a big way. The Israeli government is doing the utmost to assist the Indian Embassy in Operation Ajay,” Kobbi Shoshani, consul general of Israel in Mumbai told news agency ANI.