Israel-Hamas conflict: The first charter flight to facilitate the return of Indian citizens wishing to return from Israel landed at Delhi Airport on Friday morning. The flight on Thursday evening had left from the Ben Gurion airport carrying 211 adults and an infant living in the war-battered region. Union Minister Rajiv Chandrashekhar is present at the airport to welcome the Indians who were stranded in Israel. As per the officials, the passengers were chosen on a "first come first serve" basis and the government is bearing the cost of their return.
Upon receiving the Indian nationals who were evacuated from Israel, Chandrasekhar interacted with them. Talking to the reporter he said, "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..."
At the airport, the Union Minister was seen welcoming the Indians with a 'Namaste' gesture. while sharing his experience about the war-battered region, an Indian national said, "This is the first time that we are facing this situation over there. We are very thankful to the Indian government, especially Prime Minister Narendra Modi for bringing us back. We are hoping for peace as soon as possible so that we can go back to work as earliest as possible..."
The flight, which took off at 22:14 local time, was arranged to facilitate the return of those who were unable to do so because Air India had immediately suspended its flight on the day fighting began on October 7, and its commercial operation remains suspended till now.
There was a long queue of Indians, including students, at the airport to board the special flight being operated under 'Operation Ajay' from Tel Aviv.
