Operation Ajay: India evacuates 286 citizens out of Israel

As part of “Operation Ajay,” India is returning 286 additional people from Israel, including 18 natives of Nepal, the foreign affairs minister S Jaishankar announced on Tuesday. Kanta Rizal, Nepal’s ambassador to Israel, told the media that some of the 18 Nepalese nationals were staying in dangerous areas while others desired to return home. “We sent 254 Nepalese citizens on the Nepal Airlines on October 12 and may look to arrange more flights to take them out,” she was quoted as saying by PTI. It is the fifth trip carried out as part of “Operation Ajay,” which was started by India on October 11 in order to make it easier for Indian nationals to return from Israel, which is at war with the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas. V Muraleedharan, the minister of state (MoS) for external affairs, stated on Tuesday that more flights will be run as needed in light of the impending scenario. “As of new, 5 flights have come and if required we will operate more flights on the basis of the situation that emerges. During the last, almost 4-5 days, we have flown aircraft from Israel to India,” the minister told the media. “Conflict erupted in Israel, the Indian Embassy had issued an advisory, requesting the Indian citizens there to be cautious and also to register their names in the Indian Embassy,” Muraleedharan added. (With agency inputs)