The second flight carrying Indian nationals from war-torn Israel landed in New Delhi early on Saturday morning. The second flight consisting of 235 Indian nationals took off at 11.02 pm local time.
The passengers were chosen on a "first come first serve" basis after a drive launched by the Indian embassy for all Indians to register at the mission's database. The government is bearing the cost of their return. There are about 18,000 Indian nationals living and working in Israel including caregivers, students, several IT professionals, and diamond traders.
The Indian embassy in Tel Aviv had scheduled another flight for Friday evening to rescue Indians stranded amid the conflict with Hamas. "The Embassy has emailed the next lot of registered Indian citizens for the special flight today. Messages to other registered people will follow for subsequent flights," said the Indian Embassy in Tel Aviv on X.
As chaos erupted following Hamas's surprise attack on Israel and the latter's furious retaliation, India launched 'Operation Ajay' on Thursday to facilitate the return of those who wished to return home. The first charter flight to facilitate the return of Indian citizens wishing to return from Israel landed at Delhi Airport on Friday morning.
India issues advisory
The Indian Embassy in Israel issued an advisory on Wednesday, wherein it urged Indian nationals living in the war-torn nation "to register themselves with the Embassy of India, Tel Aviv and Israel". In a video message, the Indian Ambassador to Israel, Sanjeev Singla, assured desperate people to stay calm and follow the guidelines issued by the local authorities and contact the emergency numbers of the embassy in case of trouble.
"Registration with the Embassy will facilitate any measures that need to be taken in a situation of emergency or if such a need arises. It will also facilitate information availability about various events through our emailing network," according to the statement released on Wednesday.
Israel-Hamas war
The evacuation of Indian nationals was necessitated after armed Hamas militants based in the Gaza Strip blasted through the Israeli security fence and streamed into Israel by land, air and sea on Saturday, in what is now described as an unprecedented attack.
Since then, the attack has killed more than 1,300 people in Israel while the Israeli counter-airstrikes have killed more than 1,530 people in Gaza. Israel has claimed roughly 1,500 Hamas militants were killed inside Israel.
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