Operation Ajay is a special operation launched by the Indian Government to evacuate Indian citizens stranded amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. The Indian government worked with Air India to operate special charter flights from Tel Aviv to Delhi.
The first flight under 'Operation Ajay' brought back 212 Indians home from war-torn Israel. The passengers shared their horrid ordeals after landing in India.
A second flight carrying 235 Indian nationals from Tel Aviv in Israel, under Operation Ajay, landed at Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi on Saturday morning.
The evacuated Indian nationals were welcomed by Union Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs, Rajkumar Ranjan Singh, at the airport. He welcomed Indian nationals with a handshake and folded hands.
Indians Who Returned From Share Ordeal
On October 13, the first flight of Operation Ajay carrying 212 Indians landed in New Delhi. There were 211 adults and an infant on the flight from Tel Aviv to New Delhi.
As the External Affairs Minister, S Jaishankar announced the special rescue operation, Operation Ajay on Wednesday, the Indian embassy in Israel immediately launched a drive for all Indians to register in the database of the special mission and within 24 hours the first flight flew from Tel Aviv on Thursday 10:14 p.m. (local time) while the second flight for the day has already been announced.
GOI is bearing all the cost of the Indians returning their home from Israel.
Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar was present at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in Delhi to receive the rescued Indians.
The operation was carried out on a 'first come first serve basis' and Air India immediately suspended all their flight on October 7, the day when the war Israel-Hamas war began, the GOI worked with Air India to run special flights facilitating the return of Indians. However, all the commercial flights of the airlines remain suspended.
Passengers Thank The Indian Government
After actor Nushrratt Bharuccha returned home and expressed her gratitude to the Indian government and embassy expressing her emotions of feeling blessed, many Indians who returned home thanked the Indian government for bringing them back safely.
A passenger told ANI that it was the first time they had faced a situation like this in Israel and were thankful to the Indian government for facilitating their rescue. The passengers also hoped for peace in the conflict so that they could go back to work as earliest as possible.
Shubham Kumar, a student from Israel explained to PTI how most of the students panicked but soon they received notifications and links from the Indian embassy, which boosted everyone's morale. He shared how they felt the embassy was connected with them and it was kind of a relief for them as they got all the arrangements done.
Another passenger who carried a baby narrated to ANI, how they were sleeping around 6:30 am when they heard a siren and they ran towards the shelter.
The Indian embassy has now announced the second flight and sent out emails for registration on a 'first come first serve' basis.
Suggested Reading: Israel-Palestine Crisis: Children Remain Most Affected As War Escalates
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