Nepal to send aircraft to evacuate its citizens from Israel

KATHMANDU: Nepal will be sending flights from its flagship carrier -- Nepal Airlines -- on Wednesday evening to Israel to evacuate its citizens from Israel, who have been stranded since terrorist outfit Hamas launched 'surprise attacks on Saturday.

As per the secretariat of Nepal's Foreign Minister NP Saud, the Nepal Airlines aircraft will fly to Israel via Dubai to repatriate about 300 Nepali citizens, who have registered themselves online to return to the Himalayan nation.

On Wednesday morning, Nepal Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal, along with the Minister for Tourism, Sudan Kirati, convened a meeting at his official residence, directing the heads of the Civil Aviation Authority and Nepal Airlines to launch an immediate rescue mission for stranded Nepalese citizens in Israel.

As per the secretariat of the Nepal Foreign Minister, permissions have been already obtained from Israel. About 300 Nepalese citizens have already registered themselves to return from Israel. In adherence to international safety protocols, the government is ensuring that all insurance and permit procedures are fulfilled, with necessary arrangements to be finalised in coordination with the United Arab Emirates.

The latest move of the Nepal government comes in the wake of the death of 10 students from Nepal in Kibbutz near the Gaza border after Hamas terrorists opened fire on them on Saturday. The Nepal government on Sunday confirmed the death of the students, who were in Israel under the "Learn and Earn" scheme -- a 10-month internship in the agricultural sector.

Further, one Nepalese citizen remains unaccounted for after the Hamas attacks. Among the affected individuals are 49 students pursuing studies in the Faculty of Agricultural Sciences at Sudurpaschim University, part of the "Learning and Earning" programme who found themselves trapped in the conflict zone following the terror attacks. While 32 of these students were rescued by the Israeli military and moved to safety in Tel Aviv, they are now seeking assistance to return to Nepal, as Israel intensifies its counter-offensive against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

Amid the ongoing onslaught in Gaza, the spokesperson for the Israel Defence Force (IDF), Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Conricus, on Wednesday said 1,200 Israelis were killed and more than 2,700 injured in the Hamas attacks, adding that the Israeli soldiers were ready to execute the mission in Gaza.

"Four days after Hamas breached into Israel, attacked Israeli communities, murdered and massacre Israeli citizens and took dozens of Israeli hostages into Gaza. The dead toll is staggering, a 1200 dead Israelis. The overwhelming majority of them civilians and more than 2700 wounded and sadly something tells me that these are not final numbers," he said.

The IDF spokesperson said about 300,000 soldiers have been deployed on the Gaza border claiming that they would ensure that the Hamas will be shorn of its military capabilities by the end of the counter-offensive. In a live video posted on X, Conricus added, "We have sent our inventory, armoured soldiers, our artillery cores and many other soldiers from the reserves.

300000 in numbers in different brigades and divisions and they are now close to the Gaza strip getting ready to execute the mission that Israeli government and that is to make sure that Hamas at the end of the war won't have any military capabilities by which they can threaten or kill Israeli citizens."