New Delhi, Oct 13 (IANS): Amid the ongoing war in Israel, at least 212 Indian citizens arrived in the national capital from the first flight under 'Operation Ajay'.

The first flight under the 'Operation Ajay' arrived in the national capital around 6 a.m. and they were greeted by Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar at the airport.

The Minister also interacted with the students who returned from Tel Aviv to Delhi.

The special flight with 212 people had left from Tel Aviv on Thursday for Delhi.

Addressing a flurry of questions on the Israel-Palestine conflict, which escalated last week after the Hamas group launched rocket attacks on Tel Aviv, Ministry of External Affairs spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said that the government's prime focus is to bring back 18,000 Indians stuck there.

"Our focus is to bring back Indians who want to come out of Israel. There are 18,000 Indians there, including students," he said, informing that the government has launched 'Operation Ajay' to bring back Indian citizens from war-torn Israel.

"Yesterday, Operation Ajay was launched to facilitate our citizens who wish to come back. The first flight will reach Tel Aviv tonight and is likely to reach India tomorrow (Friday) with 230 people," Bagchi informed.