Varanasi: The Indian embassy in Israel is carrying out extensive outreach activity for the Indian community amid the raging war with the terrorist group Hamas.
Rahul, a resident of Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh was among the stranded Indians who were unable to leave Israel in the early days of the Israel-Gaza war and has now reunited with his family.
Speaking about his return from the war-torn country Rahul said, "I travelled to Israel last year in December 2022. I was pursuing PhD in the Pharmacy division there. I spent 10 months there, I had a flight back to India on 7 October, but my flight got cancelled due to the disturbances early morning on October 7. Half an hour before my takeoff, my flight got cancelled."
"Thereafter, I heard about Operation Ajay, which was launched to repatriate Indians from Israel amid the ongoing offensive in Gaza. I registered and spoke to the concerned people under the initiative and got the opportunity to return back to India," he added.
I want to thank the government for providing assistance and for the quick, easy, safe and successful evacuation of all the Indians from Israel, stated Rahul further.
Expressing gratitude for his son's arrival back to India, Rahul's father said, "I want to thank the government for taking speedy cognizance of the Indians stranded in Israel. Their flights had been cancelled, this made their chances of returning very uncertain. We are reaping the benefits of Prime Minister Modi's governance."
"We are very happy about the safe arrival of our son. There was a lot of tension due to Israel and Hamas conflicts. We are grateful for Operation Ajay to have returned our son back to the country all safe and sound," stated Rahul's mother.
Officials from the Indian Embassy held online meetings with Indian companies, emailed details of the flight to return to India assured Indian students of all assistance and allayed their concerns.
Earlier last week, the first batch of Indians from Israel arrived to chants of 'Bharat Mata Ki Jai' and 'Vande Mataram'.
With folded hands, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar personally greeted the returnees. He also interacted with students flying in from Israel.
The minister reassured passengers of the Centre's "unwavering commitment" to the safety of every Indian overseas. Prime Minister Modi is determined to protect all Indians overseas," he added.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)