India evacuates almost 3,000 nationals from Iran and Israel under Op Sindhu

India has successfully evacuated nearly 3,000 of its nationals from Iran and Israel by Tuesday morning, leveraging the Indian Air Force's C-17 heavy-lift aircraft to bring citizens to safety. This extensive repatriation effort, dubbed "Operation Sindhu," comes amid heightened regional hostilities following a series of retaliatory strikes between Iran and Israel.

The evacuation from Israel involved moving more than 600 citizens by road to neighboring Jordan and Egypt. The first group of 161 Indians from Israel arrived in New Delhi via a chartered flight from Amman at 8:20 AM on Tuesday, received by Minister of State for External Affairs Pabitra Margrherita. Shortly after, another group of 165 Indians from Israel, who also traveled via Jordan, landed in New Delhi on a C-17 aircraft at 8:45 AM, where they were welcomed by Minister of State L Murugan. Additionally, nearly 300 Indians who crossed from Israel to Egypt via the Taba land border were evacuated from Sharm-el-Sheikh on a C-17. These flights from Jordan faced delays due to airspace restrictions imposed by West Asian countries following Iranian missile strikes on Monday.

Concurrently, the evacuation of Indians from Iran continued. A chartered flight brought 292 Indians from Mashhad to New Delhi at 3:30 AM on Tuesday, bringing the total number of nationals evacuated from Iran to 2,295 since last week. India had launched "Operation Sindhu" last week, initially moving Indians from Iran to Armenia by road before arranging chartered flights from Mashhad once airspace restrictions were eased as a special gesture.

The Indian Embassy in Tehran had announced plans to evacuate all Indian nationals from Iran, which is home to approximately 10,000 Indians, including students and pilgrims. In Israel, where there are over 32,000 Indian nationals, many are caregivers and construction workers. This large-scale evacuation highlights India's commitment to the safety of its diaspora in volatile regions.