Operation Sindhu: 326 Indian citizens returned from Israel, MEA said- Safety of Indians abroad is our priority

Amid Israel-Iran tensions, the process of returning Indian citizens to their homeland under Operation Sindhu continues. On Tuesday morning, two Air Force planes carrying 326 Indian citizens from Israel reached New Delhi. 161 Indian citizens were brought in the first plane and 165 in the second plane. The Indian citizens were welcomed at the airport by Union Minister of State for External Affairs (MOS) Pabitra Margherita and Union Minister of State Dr. L Murugan. Regarding this, the Ministry of External Affairs said that the safety of Indian citizens abroad is the priority of the government.

MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal tweeted that the Israel phase of Operation Sindhu started on 23 June 2025. In this, the first batch of 161 Indian citizens were brought back home from Jordan. After this, the Air Force's C-17 aircraft brought back 165 passengers from Israel. The Ministry of External Affairs said that their travel from Israel to India will be facilitated through land borders and then by air to India. Earlier, 292 Indian citizens were evacuated from Iran by a special plane that arrived in New Delhi from Mashhad. So far 2295 Indian citizens have been brought back home from Iran.

Indian citizens expressed happiness.

Trimbak Koli, an elderly couple who returned from Israel, said that I had been in Israel for one and a half months. The situation suddenly deteriorated there. We could hear the sound of explosions at any time of the day. We were scared. Now we are back. We are very grateful to Prime Minister Modi. We had gone there to meet our son's newborn baby. They will stay in Israel. They will not return. We have returned. The situation is still worsening. His wife says that we saw bombs (missiles) in the sky. Six of them passed over our heads. When we saw this, we hid. We are very grateful to Prime Minister Modi.

Thanks to the government

An Indian said that we thank the government for bringing us back home. We got a lot of help from the Indian Embassy. I am grateful to the Government of India and the Indian Air Force. The Indian Embassy and the Government of India helped us a lot during the evacuation process. When we left our house in Israel, we could still hear the sirens.

This is what the Air Force said.

Regarding Operation Sindhu, the Indian Air Force said that in response to the increasing tension in the conflict-affected areas of West Asia, C-17 aircraft of the Indian Air Force launched missions from Jordan and Egypt to evacuate Indian citizens and citizens of friendly countries. The Indian Air Force is committed as first responders to provide assistance in the country and around the world in times of need.