Evacuation Of Indians From Israel: All You Need To Know About Operation Ajay

With Israel in the grip of war with Hamas and continuing to face rocket attacks from both Hamas and Hizbullah on two fronts, India has announced a plan to evacuate its citizens from the country.

AFP

What is Operation Ajay

The External Affairs Ministry on Wednesday night announced the launch of "Operation Ajay" to evacuate Indians from Israel.

"Launching Operation Ajay to facilitate the return from Israel of our citizens who wish to return," External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said in a post on X.

"Special charter flights and other arrangements being put in place. Fully committed to the safety and well-being of our nationals abroad," he added.

AFP

When will Operation Ajay start?

The first batch of Indians is expected to be brought back from Israel in a special flight on Thursday.

Shortly after Jaishankar's announcement, the Indian embassy in Israel said it has e-mailed the first lot of registered Indian citizens for the special flight on Thursday.

"Messages to other registered people will follow for subsequent flights," it said on X.

Who is being evacuated?

According to estimates, there are around 18,000 Indians currently residing in Israel. Most of these Indian nationals are working in the IT, health care, and elderly care sectors. Out of this nearly half of them are from Kerala. On Tuesday, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had written to Jaishankar seeking the Centre's intervention to secure 7,000 Keralites currently in that country.

BCCL

¡°A good number of them, around 7,000, are from Kerala. The continuing hostilities are putting these civilians to extreme hardships and their family members are in a state of extreme anxiety. I request your good self to intervene in every possible way to ensure the safety of our citizens in Israel,¡± Vijayan had said in his letter.

One Indian national, a caregiver from Kerala had suffered injuries after a Hamas rocket hit the house where she was employed.

How Indians in Israel can seek help

The Indian mission has issued advisories to its citizens to remain calm, and vigilant and follow the security advisories. The Embassy has also been working constantly to help citizens in Israel through a 24-hour helpline.

It listed the 24*7 Emergency Helpline/Contact numbers: +972-35226748 and +972-543278392. It also provided an email to: cons1.telaviv@mea.gov.in.

Facebook/India in Israel

India's Representative Office in Ramallah (ROI) said it is constantly in touch with the four Indians living in Gaza.

An official from ROI told PTI that ¡°we are in touch (with them) and are trying to help all Indians but the situation on the ground constrains our options.¡±

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