In photos | How India rescued 212 of its citizens amid Israel-Hamas war

It’s nearly a week since Hamas, the Palestinian militant group, launched audacious and deadly strikes against Israel by land, air and sea. Israel has hit back with strikes of its own in the Gaza Strip. The ‘war’ as Israeli prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu said is taking a heavy toll on human life; until now, 1,400 have died in Gaza, while the Israeli toll stands at 1,300. Many more have been taken hostage by Hamas. Amidst this fierce battle, which is likely to escalate with Israel putting boots on the ground in Gaza, India has been working hard and fast to evacuate its citizens – around 18,000 live there – and bring them home to safety. On Friday (13 October), the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi saw a gamut of emotions, from relief to happiness as the first batch of 212 Indians returned home from Israel as part of the evacuation mission, dubbed Operation Ajay. **Please also read: From rescue ops to diplomacy: How Sanjeev Singla, India envoy to Israel, is rising up to challenge** There were smiles and tears all around, with chants of ‘Vande Mataram’ and ‘Bharat Mata ki Jai’ ringing out loud as citizens touched down in Delhi. [caption id=“attachment_13244372” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Pankaj and Shikha from Lucknow, both post-doctoral researchers, with their five month-old baby Pranil are a happy family as they land at the Indira Gandhi International Airport in New Delhi. They were among the 212 Indians who were evacuated from Israel amid the raging war through Operation Ajay. The nationals were welcomed by Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar, who greeted them with folded hands. Reuters[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_13244402” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Landing in New Delhi, many of the nationals spoke of the horrors and fears they faced before reaching home. One of the first Indians to land spoke of the sirens they heard going off over the weekend after Hamas militants launched nearly 5000 rockets in the first 20 minutes of the attack. PTI[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_13244462” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] And this first flight which landed on Friday morning will be followed by another. The Indian embassy in Israel has already emailed the next lot of registered Indian citizens for the special flight on Friday. PTI[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_13244562” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] One of the returned Indians said that the evacuation was a “praiseworthy step”. “We hope peace will be restored and we will return to work… The Indian government got in touch with us via email. We are thankful to Prime Minister Modi and the Indian Embassy in Israel.” Reuters[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_13244582” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Among those who returned were Indian students who had gone there to pursue higher education. One of them speaking to the media who had gathered at the airport said: “We were in shelters… the Israeli government has made shelters everywhere, so we were safe.” AP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_13244632” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] “We heard sirens on Saturday. As the attack happened, we could hear the sound. Israeli authorities were instructing us (to take safety measures). It was a continuous attack. I am happy to return home, but sad also, as our friends are there (in Israel),” he said. AP[/caption] [caption id=“attachment_13244682” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Speaking of their time in Israel, another told the press, “Normal life has been paused. People are scared and angry. Even when I was leaving, I heard sirens and had to go to a shelter.” Israel has vowed to destroy Hamas, with Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu saying that they were “even worse than ISIS.” AP[/caption]