As many as 268 Indians returned in the third flight from Israel amid escalating tension in the Middle East on Tuesday, the Ministry of External Affairs said.

The evacuation was made as part of Operation Sindhu.

"268 Indian nationals who returned in the third flight from Israel were received by MoS Dr. L Murugan. The IAF C-17 flight from Sharm-El-Sheikh, Egypt landed in Delhi at 1100 hrs on 24th June," MEA spokesperson Randhir Jaiswal wrote on X.

MEA said as part of the operation,  594 Indians have returned so far from Israel so far.

India recently announced launching 'Operation Sindhu' to evacuate Indian nationals from Iran as the Persian Gulf nation is engaged in a conflict with Israel.

The first batch of 110 Indian students evacuated from Iran under Operation Sindhu has safely arrived in New Delhi on a special flight from Yerevan in Armenia last week.

The Iranian embassy officials in Delhi said the Iranian foreign ministry was in close touch with the Indian mission in Tehran after some students were injured.

"India accords highest priority to the safety and security of Indian nationals abroad," the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said in a statement.

More than 4,000 Indian nationals reside in Iran, with half of them being students.

The latest conflict started when Israel launched 'Operation Rising Lion' targeting Iran's nuclear infrastructure.

This prompted massive retaliatory attacks from Tehran.

Meanwhile, US President Donald Trump on Tuesday announced Israel and Iran have reached a ceasefire deal to end their 12-day war.