Operation Sindhu: 3,170 Indians evacuated from conflict-hit Israel, Iran; Sri Lankan & Nepalese nationals also rescued | India News

NEW DELHI: India on Tuesday evacuated over 1,100 citizens from Iran and Israel amid the ongoing tensions between the two countries, bringing the total number of evacuees under Operation Sindhu to 3,170.From Israel, 594 Indians were brought back, with the Indian Air Force using C-17 heavy-lift aircraft to fly out over 400 people after they were moved by land to Jordan and Egypt. Additionally, 161 Indians who travelled by road to the Jordanian capital, Amman, were flown back to New Delhi on a chartered flight.From Iran, India evacuated 573 Indians, along with three Sri Lankan and two Nepalese nationals, in two chartered flights on Tuesday, according to details shared by the ministry of external affairs (MEA). With these fresh evacuations, India has now brought back a total of 2,576 Indians from the Persian Gulf nation.Since the launch of Operation Sindhu last week, following the outbreak of conflict between Israel and Iran, India has evacuated a total of 3,170 Indians from both countries.The first group of 161 Indians who travelled from Israel to Jordan by road reached New Delhi on Tuesday morning at 8.20 am in a chartered flight from Amman. The group was received at the airport by Minister of State for External Affairs Pabitra Margherita.Another group of 165 Indians, who also moved from Israel to Jordan by road, was flown back to New Delhi from Amman in a C-17 aircraft. Minister of State L Murugan received this group.Separately, 268 Indians who crossed over from Israel to Egypt were evacuated from Sharm-el-Sheikh in a C-17 aircraft and arrived in New Delhi at 11 am.From Iran, 292 Indian nationals were evacuated on a special flight that arrived in New Delhi from Mashhad at 3.30 am, External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal said. Another batch of 281 Indians, along with three Sri Lankan and two Nepalese nationals, was evacuated from Iran and arrived in New Delhi at 3 pm on another special flight from Mashhad.“2576 Indian nationals have now been brought home from Iran as part of #OperationSindhu,” Jaiswal said.Earlier, on Monday night, 290 Indian nationals and one Sri Lankan were evacuated from Mashhad on a special flight.The conflict between Israel and Iran has seen both sides firing hundreds of missiles and drones at each other’s cities, military facilities, and strategic sites over the past week. Tensions escalated sharply after the US bombing of three major Iranian nuclear sites on Sunday morning.India has been evacuating its citizens using chartered flights from the Iranian city of Mashhad, the Armenian capital Yerevan, and the Turkmenistan capital Ashgabat since Wednesday. Iran lifted its airspace restrictions on Friday, allowing three chartered flights from Mashhad to operate.The first evacuation flight landed in New Delhi late on Friday with 290 Indians, while the second flight arrived on Saturday afternoon with 310 Indians. Another special flight landed from Yerevan on Thursday, and a separate evacuation flight from Ashgabat arrived in New Delhi early Saturday morning.