As Israel and Iran entered day 7 of the war, India has already begun the rescue operation to evacuate stranded citizens and has lifted a batch of 110 Indian students living in Iran amid the escalating war. The Indian students, who returned home early on Thursday, narrated a harrowing experience they had while Israel and Iran bombarded each other with devastating missiles.

The students, who were first relocated to Armenia through the land border and were brought to New Delhi on the first repatriation flight, expressed their gratitude to the government and the Indian embassy’s swift assistance.

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As per the information received from External Affairs, Kirti Vardhan Singh, the evacuation efforts are ongoing. “We have planes ready. We will be sending another plane today. We are evacuating some more people from Turkmenistan. Our missions have opened 24-hour lines for any request for evacuation," he told reporters, expressing his gratitude to the Armenian and Turkmen governments.

‘India Came To Our Doorstep’

A Kashmiri student, residing in Iran, expressed her gratitude for India’s efforts to evacuate Indians stranded in Iran. She recalled the trauma of living through missile attacks. “We were terrified. We thank the Indian government and the Indian embassy who worked very fast and swiftly to bring us here," Varta, a Kashmiri student, was quoted by PTI. She further said, “When the Indian government came to our doorstep, it felt like home.”

The Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, Omar Abdullah, lauded India’s efforts and transparent arrangements to ensure the smooth arrival of stranded citizens. “94 of our students evacuated from Iran have safely reached Delhi. The Government is making transport arrangements to ensure their smooth journey home, which will be in place within the next few hours,” Omar Abdullah said in an X post.

Another student, Mir Khalifa, who landed in Delhi, said, “We could see missiles. There was a war going on. Our neighbourhood was bombed. We were very afraid of the situation. I hope we never see those days again."

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Releasing a statement, the Jammu and Kashmir Students’ Association expressed their gratitude to the Indian government, thanking Prime Minister Narendra Modi and External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar for the timely evacuation efforts. “We remain hopeful that all remaining students will be evacuated soon," it said.