Nepal thanks India for Operation Ajay rescue from Israel

Expressing gratitude to his Indian counterpart, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar for the evacuation of Nepal citizens from Israel, Nepal Foreign Minister NP Saud has said the help is appreciated.

Thanking Jaishankar, Saud said that the people of Nepal are helpful for the same.

The fifth flight carrying 286 Indian nationals including 18 citizens of Nepal arrived in New Delhi late on Tuesday night. Upon arrival, they were received by the Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting and Fisheries, Animal Husbandry & Dairying, L Murugan.

"Wherever Indians are stranded, our priority is to bring them back. We have successfully conducted Operation Ganga and Operation Kaveri now under Operation Ajay we are bringing people back from Israel. This is the fifth flight, and we have already brought 1180 people back home. We are the first country to start the evacuation, and we are also bringing people belonging to our neighbour (Nepal) countries...," the Minister said.

Along with Indian nationals, there were some Nepal citizens as well, who were also evacuated by India under 'Operation Ajay'.

Ambika, a Nepali citizen who returned from Israel told ANI, "The situation in Israel is dangerous. We were scared, there were explosions. I want to thank the Indian government for bringing us back."

Following the evacuation, the Ambassador of Nepal to India, said, "We would like to thank the Indian Govt for bringing Nepali citizens back from Tel Aviv to Delhi. They have arrived here safely. Flights are also being sent from Nepal to evacuate Nepali citizens. There are around 4,500 Nepalis in Israel, out of which 400 have been evacuated. Nepal government is working to bring them back..."

Operation Ajay is an ongoing operation conducted by the Indian Armed Forces to evacuate Indian citizens from Israel during the 2023 Israel-Hamas war.

The fourth flight from Israel under 'Operation Ajay' carrying 274 Indian passengers landed in the national capital on Sunday.

Union Minister of State General (Retd) VK Singh received the Indian passengers at the airport.

He interacted with them and also gave tricolours to every Indian passenger.

MoS for Road Transport and Highways, VK Singh informed that more flights will be carried out to evacuate the Indian citizens amid the situation in Israel.

The Indian nationals applauded the operation and said that there was support from the Indian embassy and the evacuation process was nice and quick. 'Operation Ajay' was launched by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to bring back around 18,000 Indians in Israel. Registration of Indians began on Thursday.

The Indian embassy in Israel is providing assistance to Indian companies and has set up a helpline for Indian citizens in need of assistance.

(ANI)