Amid chants of patriotic slogans "Vande Matram" and "Bharat Mata ki Jai" on the flight, the first batch of 212 Indian nationals, including a child, returned to their native country on Friday morning amid the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict.
In the morning, the citizens were greeted in their motherland India, i.e. Bharat, by the federal Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), with its spokesperson Arindam Bagchi posting on X (formerly Twitter): "Welcome to the homeland! 1st OperationAjay flight carrying 212 citizens touches down in New Delhi".
Federal Minister of State Rajeev Chandrasekhar visited Delhi Airport and personally welcomed everyone as they returned on the special flight.
The minister also interacted with some of the youngsters and enquired about their personal experiences.
The minister also interacted with some of the youngsters and enquired about their personal experiences.
Earlier, at around midnight, Indian Minister of External Affairs S. Jaishankar in a post on X announced the commencement of country's rescue operation: "OperationAjay gets underway. 212 citizens onboard the flight are enroute New Delhi".
This flight was arranged to facilitate the return of those who were unable to do so as India's flagship carrier Air India suspended flights when the war broke out on 7 October.
Meanwhile, in the light of the ongoing the Israel-Palestine conflict, a 24-hour control room has been set up at the MEA. It is monitoring the situation and offering information and assistance.
Besides this, 24-hour emergency helplines have been set up at @indemtel and @ROIRamallah.
Media reports suggest there is still a long queue of Indians, including students, at Tel Aviv Airport. They are waiting for their turn to board the special flight to India under Operation Ajay.
Israel has been carrying out an unprecedented offensive against the Hamas group in the Gaza Strip since 7 October. Having lost at least 1,200 of its citizens, Israel's military has positioned nearly 300,000 personnel outside Gaza, indicating a major ground offensive may happen in the coming days.