New Delhi [India], June 24 (ANI): A total of 165 Indian nationals were evacuated by the Indian Air Force under Operation Sindhu from Jordan, in an effort to get citizens back home safe amid the Israel-Iran conflict. The IAF's C-17 aircraft landed in Delhi today morning, and the passengers were welcomed by Minister of State L Murugan.

The spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs, Randhir Jaiswal, informed about the flight in a post on X, adding, 'An IAF C-17 flight evacuated 165 Indian nationals from Israel under Operation Sindhu. They were received by MoS Dr. L. Murugan upon arrival in Delhi. The aircraft landed at 0845 hrs on 24th June from Amman (Jordan).'

https://x.com/MEAIndia/status/1937372215772868760

Earlier, while talking about the arrival of the evacuees in Delhi's Palam airport, the IAF said that there are going to be missions in Egypt too.

'In response to heightened tensions in conflict-affected areas in West Asia, IAF C-17 aircraft commenced missions from Jordan and Egypt to extricate Indian nationals and citizens of friendly countries. The IAF remains committed as first responders to provide assistance within the country and across the globe in times of need,' the Air Force said in a post on X.

https://x.com/IAF_MCC/status/1937365482136318048

'Today, the second aircraft from Israel came here, almost 165 passengers have landed here, we welcome them, the passengers are from 22 states, they are all students and doing various work. Our priority and Prime Minister Modi's priority is that wherever the war situation is there and our Indian diaspora people are stuck, the priority is to work to bring them in safely,' L Murugan told ANI while receiving the passengers.

Some of the passengers expressed how their experience of evacuation was quite good, with the Indian embassy in Jordan helping a lot to ensure that the people reached home.

'The Indian government helped us a lot. For evacuation, we travelled to the Indian embassy in Jordan, even the embassy helped us a lot, overall a good experience...Even half an hour before we left our place, there were sirens, bombings happening. Even when we reached the border of Israel, it was happening,' one of the passengers, who had been evacuated with her daughter and husband, told ANI.

Earlier today, under Operation Sindhu, as many as 161 Indian nationals arrived in Delhi from Israel, with Union Minister of State (MoS) for External Affairs, Pabitra Margherita, welcoming them at the airport.

Ministry of External Affairs official spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal stated that the Israel leg of Operation Sindhu started on June 23. Jaiswal emphasised that the safety and security of Indian nationals abroad remain the government's highest priority.

The conflict between Israel and Iran began on June 13 when the former launched a massive airstrike on Iranian military and nuclear sites, code-named 'Operation Rising Lion'. In retaliation, Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) initiated a large-scale drone and missile campaign called 'Operation True Promise 3', targeting Israeli fighter jet fuel production facilities and energy supply centres.

Tensions escalated further after the US conducted precision airstrikes early Sunday morning on three key Iranian nuclear facilities under 'Operation Midnight Hammer'. Iran retaliated by launching multiple missiles at US military installations in Qatar and Iraq, including the Al Udeid Air Base in Qatar, the largest US military base in the region, CNN reported. (ANI)