Indians chant 'Vande Mataram' as first Operation Vijay flight from Israel lands in Delhi

Passengers were proudly heard chanting 'Vande Mataram' and 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' as the first flight carrying 212 Indian nationals from Israel landed in Delhi airport in the early hours of Friday.

This comes as the Indian government launched Operation Ajay to facilitate the return of those who wished to come back home as a series of serious attacks on Israeli towns by Hamas militants over the weekend triggered fresh tension in the region.

#WATCH | Chants of 'Vande Matram' and 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' by passengers on the first flight carrying 212 Indian nationals from Israel. The flight landed at Delhi airport earlier today. 

(Video Source: Passenger) pic.twitter.com/qZSMyPZmwS

— ANI (@ANI) October 13, 2023

Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar welcomed the passengers at the Delhi airport as they arrived into the lounge area from the tarmac side. He greeted them with folded hands and also shook hands with many of them saying, "Welcome home".

What passengers said

Shashwat Singh, a post-doctoral researcher, who has been living in Israel since 2019, reached Delhi along with his wife.

Speaking to news agency ANI, he said, "We woke up to sounds of air raids' sirens. We stay in central Israel. I don't know what shape this conflict will take... I am doing a post-doctorate in agriculture there."

The evacuation of Indians is a "praiseworthy step", Singh said soon after the flight landed. "We hope peace will be restored and we will return to work... The Indian government got in touch with us via email. We are thankful to Prime Minister Modi and the Indian Embassy in Israel."

Arindam Bagchi presented data of stuck passengers

Stating the data, MEA spokesperson Arindam Bagchi on Thursday said around 18,000 Indians are currently residing in Israel while about a dozen people are in the West Bank and three to four are in Gaza.

This comes after multi-pronged attacks against Israel by Hamas militants from Gaza since Saturday and the subsequent Israeli retaliation left around 2,600 people dead.  

(With inputs from Agencies)