 "Operation Ajay: How is India evacuating citizens from Israel? What about other nations?")
As the Israel-Hamas conflict intensifies, governments around the world are scurrying to bring home their citizens who are caught up in the fighting or trying to flee the conflict region. India also declared on Wednesday that it has launched Operation Ajay to evacuate its citizens from Israel on Thursday. There are currently about 18,000 Indians living in Israel, according to the External Affairs Ministry. A sizable portion of them are caretakers, but there are also roughly 1,000 students, a few IT professionals, and diamond traders among them. Taking to X, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar announced, “Launching #OperationAjay to facilitate the return from Israel of our citizens who wish to return." The minister added, “Fully committed to the safety and well-being of our nationals abroad.”
Launching #OperationAjay to facilitate the return from Israel of our citizens who wish to return.
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) October 11, 2023
Special charter flights and other arrangements being put in place.
Fully committed to the safety and well-being of our nationals abroad.
Operation Ajay To assist Indians in safely returning to their home country, special charter planes and other arrangements are being arranged. The first group of Indians is anticipated to be transported back from Israel on a special flight on Thursday. Notably, the Indian embassy in Israel has already sent an email to the initial group of Indian nationals who have registered for the special flight on Thursday. It stated on the microblogging website, “Messages to other registered people will follow for subsequent flights.”
The Embassy has emailed the first lot of registered Indian citizens for the special flight tomorrow. Messages to other registered people will follow for subsequent flights.@MEAIndia https://t.co/Qz4ieVd5l4
— India in Israel (@indemtel) October 11, 2023
EAM Jaishankar added that he is in touch with Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed, his counterpart from the United Arab Emirates, and they spoke comprehensively about the matter. “Spoke to Foreign Minister @ABZayed of UAE this evening. Discussed the ongoing crisis in West Asia. Agreed to stay in touch,” the external affairs minister posted on X.
Spoke to Foreign Minister @ABZayed of UAE this evening.
— Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) October 11, 2023
Discussed the ongoing crisis in West Asia. Agreed to stay in touch.
After Hamas attacked Israel on 7 October, this was his first interaction with a foreign minister of an Arab country. Hamas has received criticism from Bahrain and the UAE for the assaults. Officials earlier on Wednesday told The Indian Express that India had set up “contingency” measures to evacuate its citizens from Israel. The Ministry of External Affairs initially established a 24-hour control room with the aim of aiding in situation monitoring and providing information and assistance. The control room’s phone lines are 1800118797 (toll-free), 91-11 23012113, 91-11 23014104, 91-11 23017905, and 919968291988. The control room’s email address is situationroom@mea.gov.in. The Indian Embassy in Tel Aviv also established a round-the-clock emergency helpline, which is reachable via +972-35226748, +972-543278392, and
cons1.telaviv@mea.gov.in. Additionally, the Indian Embassy in Ramallah established a 24-hour emergency hotline at +970-592916418 (also WhatsApp), rep.ramallah@mea.gov.in. It urged Indian citizens living in Israel to register with it by visiting the following link:
https://indembassyisrael.gov.in/whats?id=dwjwb. The control rooms will determine the number of Indian citizens living in Israel and Palestine, their current whereabouts, and whether or not they intend to leave those countries. Other countries repatriating their citizens from conflict-hit nations Australia According to Reuters, Australia organised two special flights on Friday and Sunday to bring back citizens from Israel, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said on Wednesday. Austria Austria said its armed forces started to evacuate Austrians from Israel on Wednesday. A transport plane with a capacity of about 60 passengers took off from Hörsching airbase in Upper Austria for Cyprus. From there, the Austrians will be picked up from Israel, as per the report. Brazil According to the Brazilian government, the first rescue plane left Tel Aviv on Tuesday, carrying 211 passengers back to Brazil. There are more than 1,000 Brazilians stranded in Israel. Anadolu Ajansı reported over 2,200 Brazilians in the Benjamin Netanyahu-led country have contacted the embassy to leave the region. [caption id=“attachment_13238252” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] Brazilians who were caught in the latest Israel-Palestinian war arrive to an Air Force air base after deplaning in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. AP[/caption] Canada Canada plans to operate evacuation flights for Canadians stranded in Israel, Foreign Minister Melanie Joly said on Tuesday. About 1,000 Canadians in Israel want to leave, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs said. Cyprus A Cypriot ministerial committee on Tuesday activated a repatriation scheme known as Estia, which offers temporary accommodation and assistance to European Union and third-country nationals fleeing areas of crisis. It said in a statement that a crisis management team made up of its ministries for foreign affairs, defense, interior, and justice determined to set a plan into action to assist Israeli evacuees in traveling to their home countries via Cyprus. Aviation officials said 11 extra inbound and outbound flights to Israel were arranged on Monday. It included the scheduled repatriation of about 150 Cypriot pilgrims from Israel on Monday. A Portuguese air force plane took 85 Portuguese and Spanish citizens on the first evacuation flight early Tuesday from Israel to Cyprus, according to a representative for the foreign ministry. Cyprus has historically served as a handy transfer point for refugees from war-torn nations due to its close proximity to the Middle East and Africa, according to The National News. Czech Republic Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky brought 34 Czech citizens back from Israel with him on his government plane after he stopped in the country on his return from a conference in Oman. The minister, who was the first foreign official to visit Israel since the attacks, the Czech government said, did not rule out sending another repatriation flight to Israel. Lipavsky arrived in Israel on Tuesday and landed in Prague early on Wednesday.
Firstpost explains:
Death Everywhere: Life inside Gaza amid airstrikes and no power
USS Gerald R. Ford arrives near Israel: What to know about mammoth US carrier
Who can broker peace between Israel, Hamas? Can India help?
Impact Shorts
More ShortsHow Gaza is on the verge of total destruction
Gaza has one exit route and Israel is bombing it. Where do its people go?
Why Israelis living abroad are desperate to return home
Denmark The Danish government made available a C-130 Hercules cargo plane, which can carry around 120 passengers, for the evacuation of its citizens, a foreign ministry spokesperson told Reuters. The ministry said, however, that the flight would not happen before Friday. Finland Finland will offer to evacuate its citizens and holders of permanent Finnish residency from Israel and the occupied Palestinian territories, the daily Iltalehti reported on Wednesday, citing Foreign Minister Elina Valtonen. France French Foreign Affairs Minister Catherine Colonna said there would be a special Air France (AIRF.PA) flight on Thursday to help repatriate the “most vulnerable” French nationals. “Unaccompanied minors, pregnant women in particular, people with disabilities or in medical situations presenting a particular emergency are considered priorities,” the government said, according to CNN. An Air France spokesperson said a commercial flight will leave at 10 a.m. (0800 GMT) local time on Thursday from Paris Charles de Gaulle (CGD). The return will be a non-commercial flight with a passenger list handled by the French embassy and will depart at 4.40 p.m. (1340) local time from Tel Aviv. The French Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne also said on Wednesday that the government was working with Air France to ensure enough flights for all French citizens who want them. Germany Five thousand German citizens have registered to leave Israel, a German Foreign Ministry spokesperson said on Wednesday, adding the ministry could not say how many have left so far. Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said the government evacuated 17 school classes from Israel. Lufthansa (LHAG.DE) will carry out special flights on Thursday and Friday to bring German citizens in Israel back to Germany, people familiar with the matter said on condition of anonymity. Iceland As per Reuters, the Icelandic Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Sunday a plane with 126 Icelanders, five Faroese, four Norwegians, and a group of 12 people from Germany, as well as the flight crew and representatives from the ministry, was leaving for Keflavík. The plane was expected to land early on Monday, it said. A foreign ministry spokesman said the flight was chartered and paid for by the Icelandic state. [caption id=“attachment_13238102” align=“alignnone” width=“640”] People stand outside a mosque destroyed in an Israeli air strike in Khan Younis, Gaza Strip. AP[/caption] Italy Italy has arranged for seven flights between Tuesday and Wednesday, the Italian foreign ministry said late on Tuesday, as part of efforts to repatriate about 1,000 Italian citizens from Israel. In a briefing to the Lower House on Wednesday, Tajani stated that the government’s “priority has been the Italians in Israel” since the beginning of the crisis and added that there has been no update on the missing dual-citizenship Italian-Israeli couple. “They are probably hostages, we will do what we can,” he said. According to Foreign Minister and Deputy Premier Antonio Tajani, “there are about 1,000 Italians” present in the conflict-hit nation “in addition to the 18,000 Italian residents in Israel,” and the government is working “to repatriate them all,” according to Azernews, quoting ANSA. Norway Norwegian Air (NAS.OL) said on Wednesday it was organising an extra flight from Tel Aviv to Oslo for Norwegian and other Nordic citizens still in Israel. The tentative departure time for the flight - which was set up on behalf of Norway’s foreign ministry - was late on Wednesday, the company added, as per news agency Reuters. Poland Poland will send military planes to evacuate its citizens from Israel, Polish President Andrzej Duda said on Sunday. Defence Minister Mariusz Blaszczak said Poland was sending two C-130 Hercules planes to evacuate some 200 Poles from Ben Gurion Airport, according to Reuters. Portugal A plane landed in Lisbon early on Wednesday carrying 152 Portuguese citizens, plus 14 citizens from other European countries, including nine from Spain, Portuguese foreign minister Joao Gomes Cravinho said on Wednesday. He added that the last four Portuguese citizens who wanted to be repatriated would arrive early on Thursday, along with 20 foreign citizens who have been brought to Cyprus and will be returning to Portugal on a C-130 overnight. Romania 596 Romanians were flown back to their country from Israel on four planes on Monday night, according to the foreign ministry of Romania. Over the weekend, over 600 people were flown back to Romania. South Korea A plane carrying 192 South Koreans from Tel Aviv arrived on Wednesday at Incheon Airport, just outside the capital Seoul, after Korean Air (003490.KS) sent an empty plane to bring them home. Spain Spain has sent two military aircraft to Israel to evacuate some 500 Spaniards, Acting Defence Minister Margarita Robles said on Tuesday, reported Reuters. An Airbus A330 of the Spanish Air Force with more than 200 Spaniards, EU citizens, and nationals from third countries residing in Spain, landed early on Wednesday in Torrejon de Ardoz military base on the outskirts of Madrid, the defense ministry said. A second military plane was heading to Tel Aviv to evacuate the remaining Spaniards in Israel on Wednesday and is expected to land in Spain later in the day. Sweden The Swedish government will offer to evacuate Swedes from Israel and the Palestinian territories, news agency TT reported on Wednesday, citing Foreign Minister Tobias Billstrom. “This is being organised in close collaboration with other Nordic countries,” the ministry said. It said it had taken the decision because “the security situation has not improved, there is a risk of the conflict escalating and the capacity of regular flights is reduced.” Switzerland Swiss citizens were being brought back from Israel to Zurich on Tuesday on a flight operated by SWISS airline, the foreign ministry in Bern said on Monday. According to Daily Sabah, there are approximately 28,000 Swiss nationals and their families legally registered as residing in Israel and the Palestinian territories.
Thailand Prime Minister Srettha Thavisin, in a post on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, on Monday, said evacuations would begin immediately, adding that the first group of 15 Thais, some of them injured, would arrive home on 12 October on a commercial airliner. United States Delta Air Lines (DAL.N) said on Monday it was working with the U.S. government as needed to assist with the repatriation of U.S. citizens who want to return home. The US government is in discussions with its partner countries, including Egypt and Israel, about ensuring safe passage for Americans and other civilians out of Gaza, US officials said. State Department spokesperson Matthew Miller said on CNN This Morning Wednesday, “We do think it’s important that American citizens who are in Gaza be allowed to leave and it’s an issue that we are working on. We’re doing that quietly, like a lot of the diplomatic efforts we undertake. It’s not something that is productive to speak about publicly, but we do it is something we’re trying to achieve.” The number of US citizens who have died in the Israel-Palestinian war has risen to 22, a White House official said Wednesday, according to The Associated Press. White House National Security Spokesman John Kirby said he did not have details on where exactly the Americans were killed. He said there are at least 17 missing, and of those a handful are believed to be held hostage. United Kingdom As scores of Britons attempt to travel back home, the UK is in discussions with the aviation sector to maintain service to Israel. James Cleverly, the foreign secretary of the United Kingdom, claimed that a “significant number” of dual citizens who are British and Israeli have been affected by the fighting, according to The National News. The government, he said, is “standing ready” to assist any British people who are worried or whose loved ones have been “injured in any way.” Cleverly said that ministers are “working with” the aviation sector to maintain the availability of commercial flights for Britons wishing to depart Israel. However, on Tuesday, several airlines’ services were suspended, making it difficult for people who wanted to fly home to book flights. Booking a seat on the next flight out on Wednesday will cost you £1,204, more than three times what it would cost you to fly the same trip a week later, which costs just £385. According to the report, the UK Foreign Office has advised its residents to declare their presence in Israel and Gaza. “If you are in Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, you are advised to register your presence with the FCDO,” it said, adding, “The FCDO continues to advise against travel to parts of Israel and the Occupied Palestinian Territories, and to advise against all but essential travel to all other parts.” Israel-Palestine war Gun battles raged Sunday between Hamas militants and Israeli forces a day after the Islamist group launched a surprise attack on Israel from Gaza, in a dramatic escalation of the Israel-Palestinian conflict. The war has already claimed at least 2,300 lives on both sides, according to AP. The death toll in Gaza rose to 1,200 early Thursday, the Palestinian health ministry said, including 51 people killed in what the Israeli military called a large-scale attack in the hours before daylight. Militants in Gaza are holding an estimated 150 people taken hostage from Israel — soldiers, men, women, children, and older adults — and they have fired thousands of rockets into Israel over the past five days. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu joined with a top political rival Wednesday to create a wartime Cabinet to oversee the fight to avenge the gruesome weekend attack by Hamas militants. In the sealed-off Gaza Strip, Palestinian suffering mounted as Israeli bombardment demolished neighborhoods and the only power plant ran out of fuel. Netanyahu vowed to “crush and destroy” Hamas. “Every Hamas member is a dead man,” he said in a televised address. With inputs from Reuters and The Associated Press
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
 "Russian drones over Poland: Trump’s tepid reaction a wake-up call for Nato?")
 "As Russia pushes east, Ukraine faces mounting pressure to defend its heartland")
 "Why Mossad was not on board with Israel’s strike on Hamas in Qatar")
 "Turkey: Erdogan's police arrest opposition mayor Hasan Mutlu, dozens officials in corruption probe")
