Meenakshi Lekhi, Minister of State, External Affairs, said on Sunday, October 8, that efforts are on to repatriate its students who are now in Israel as a result of a terrorist incident by the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
She informed reporters that the Prime Minister's Office is directly monitoring the situation after receiving numerous messages regarding Indians in Israel last night, reports IANS.
"Indian government is striving to bring back stranded students of India from Israel. Prime Minister and his office are monitoring the situation and huge efforts are underway to get back our students who are stuck in that country," she said.
The government has successfully evacuated its nationals when they were stuck abroad in the face of a crisis on many occasions, the minister says.
"Whether it was Operation Ganga or Vande Bharat, we brought everyone back and I am sure the government and the Prime Minister's Office are directly in touch with those people and are working and monitoring the situation," she said.
She made these comments after media outlets quoted several Indian students in Israel saying that they were scared following the attack.
In addition to the Indian students and nationals, 27 pilgrims from Meghalaya to Jerusalem have been stranded in Bethlehem.
Earlier today, V Muraleedharan, Minister of State for External Affairs, advised Indians stranded in Israel to remain safe and call the Indian embassy if they need any assistance.
According to the Indian Embassy's website, there are around 18,000 Indian citizens in Israel, the majority of whom work as caretakers of Israeli elders, diamond traders, Information Technology (IT) workers, and students.
Hamas began a new military operation against Israel on Saturday, launching a barrage of rockets from Gaza as a "surprise attack" into the Jewish state for the first time since May of last year.
Around 300 Israeli people were killed in the incident, and over 1,000 were injured. In reaction, Israel killed 230 Palestinians and injured over 1,500 more.