In the wake of the Israel-Hamas war, India had launched 'Operation Ajay' to facilitate the return of those Indians who wished to come back home. The first flight bringing 212 Indian nationals back from Israel successfully landed at Delhi Airport on Friday among which 21 (including 14 male students and two female students) were from Tamil Nadu.
Out of 21 people, seven were from Coimbatore and they directly landed in the southern city. The rest of the 14 persons, who were headed for Tiruvallur, Cuddalore, Tiruchy, Theni, Karur, Virudhunagar, Namakkal, Pudukottai, Kancheepuram and Chennai landed at Chennai airport.
Upon their arrival, they were received by Health Minister Ma Subramanian at the airport.
The Minister informed the media that there are still 114 people from the state who are trapped in the war-hit Israel and efforts are underway to evacuate them.
He also said that the state government has arranged a transportation facility to help the 14 persons who reached Chennai airport to travel to their hometowns.
Earlier, Union Minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar extended a warm reception and greeted "Welcome home" to the Indian nationals in Delhi who arrived from Israel.
The multi-pronged attacks against Israel by Hamas militants from Gaza since Saturday and the subsequent Israeli retaliation have left around 2,600 people dead. Israel has launched a massive counter-offensive in Gaza to avenge the attacks by Hamas.
The sudden escalation in hostilities between Israel and Palestine has triggered global concerns. Leading powers like Germany, the US, France and the UK emphasised the importance of preventing the situation from further escalation.
There was no report of any Indian casualty so far.