This was the fifth flight under Operation Ajay
Tel Aviv:
A special flight carrying Indian nationals and 18 Nepali citizens who wanted to leave Israel amid the Israel-Hamas conflict left for India on Tuesday as part of ‘Operation Ajay’.
In a message on
#OperationAjay update.
Another 286 passengers are coming back to India.
Also with 18 Nepalese citizens. pic.twitter.com/InoQVXQMUZ
—Dr. S. Jaishankar (@DrSJaishankar) October 17, 2023
The Indian Embassy in Israel said Operation Ajay is continuing and the fifth flight has taken off from Tel Aviv to Delhi.
Nepal’s Ambassador to Israel Kanta Rizal told PTI that some of these 18 Nepalis were living in difficult zones while others wanted to return.
“We sent 254 Nepalese citizens on Nepal Airlines on October 12 and may try to arrange more flights to take them,” she said.
Nepal’s Deputy Chief of Mission in Israel, Arjun Dhimire, told PTI: “The two embassies (Indian and Nepalese) were in touch and always cooperated with each other. This time too, considering the limited flights, the Nepal Embassy asked to accommodate its 18 citizens. .”
The special flights are part of Operation Ajay launched on October 12 to facilitate the return of Indian nationals seeking to return home following the brutal attacks on Israeli cities by Hamas militants from Gaza on October 7.
The voluntary departure of Indian nationals was necessitated after armed Hamas militants in the Gaza Strip launched an unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7 by land, air and sea.
Last week, four charter flights arrived from Tel Aviv carrying a total of 906 passengers, including children.
As many as 2,778 Palestinians have been killed since hostilities began.
According to official Israeli sources, at least 1,400 Israelis and foreigners have been murdered in Israel.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)