Two more flights under “Operation Ajay” carrying a total of 471 Indians from war-torn Israel landed in the national capital on Sunday morning. The two flights landed in the national capital with 197 and 274 Indians respectively.

The third flight from Tel Aviv arrived at the IGI Airport here around 4am with 197 Indians and they were received by Union minister Kaushal Kishore, who greeted them upon their arrival.

The fourth flight carrying 274 Indians from Israel, arrived at Delhi airport around 7am and they were received by Union minister of state General VK Singh (Retd) at the airport. He interacted with them and gave tricolours to every Indian passenger.

He informed that more flights will be carried out to evacuate the Indian citizens amid the situation in Israel.

“This is the fourth flight. We are expecting more for a couple of reasons. One is the fear that something might hit them. After having been taken by surprise, Israel also gathered its things in a more orderly manner. However, the universities being closed, a general atmosphere of fear and preparation that is going on in Israel, our people fear that they should not unnecessarily become a burden out there and come back home. And go back when things pan out in a better manner,” Singh told a news agency.

He further urged people not to panic and follow the instructions, adding that another flight will be coming on Monday.

“There is another flight coming in tomorrow. We will keep running the flights till all the people who have registered are taken out. This operation is going very well. It is seamless, well organized … My message would be to stay where you are and follow the instructions. There is no need to panic,” he added.

The Indian passengers said that the situation in Israel remains tense and thanked the Modi government for launching Operation Ajay to evacuate the Indian citizens.

Talking to the news agency, an Indian student coming from Israel said, “In the beginning it was horrific. Everything was uncontrollable. But now the situation is under control. The government and military are taking very strict action … Thank you, it was the best initiative (Operation Ajay) taken by the government of India.”

The Indian nationals applauded the operation and said that there was support from the Indian embassy and the evacuation process was nice and quick.

Meanwhile, 10 people from Uttarakhand were also among the 274 Indian passengers who arrived in Delhi.

They were received at the airport by the representative of the Uttarakhand government and after rest and refreshments at Uttarakhand Sadan, Delhi, necessary arrangements were made for them to reach their homes.

The government launched Operation Ajay to bring back around 18,000 Indians in Israel. Registration of Indians began on Thursday.

It has been more than a week after the attack that saw more than 1,300 Israelis killed, most of them civilians, as waves of Hamas militants breached the border. Over 2,000 Palestinians were also killed because of retaliatory strikes from Israel.

The Indian embassy in Israel is providing assistance to Indian companies and has set up a helpline for Indian citizens in need of assistance.

The MEA had set up a 24-hour control room in view of the escalating conflict. The control room will help monitor the situation and provide information and assistance.