Lagatar24 Desk
New Delhi, Oct 13: The first charter flight of ‘Operation Ajay’ arrived at Delhi Airport on Friday morning, bringing 212 Indian citizens from conflict-ridden Israel. Among the passengers, there were 211 adults and one infant on board.
The Indian nationals who landed from Israel were welcomed at the airport by Union Minister Rajeev Chandrashekar.
‘Operation Ajay’ was initiated in reaction to a series of coordinated assaults by Hamas on Israel originating from Gaza since Saturday, followed by Israel’s retaliatory actions that have resulted in a death toll exceeding 2,500 individuals. In response to the attacks by Hamas, Israel has initiated a significant counter-offensive in Gaza to seek retribution.
A passenger who arrived from Israel expressed gratitude to the government for repatriating the Indian citizens and bringing them safely back to their homeland.
“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 passenger stated.
A passenger, who had an infant with her, described the situation in Israel and noted that the Indian returnees were now experiencing a sense of calm and relief after returning to India.
“On the first day, we were sleeping and at around 6.30 there was a siren. We ran towards the shelter and it was very hard but we managed. We are feeling relaxed and we thank the Government of India,” she said.