Lucknow (Uttar Pradesh) [India], June 17 (ANI): Shia religious leader Maulana Saif Abbas on Tuesday appealed to the Union government to evacuate Indian pilgrims 'stuck' in Iran and Iraq in the wake of the Israel-Iran conflict.

Speaking to ANI, Maulana Abbas said on Tuesday, 'Indian pilgrims who cannot afford to go for Hajj, go to religious sites in Iran and Iraq. In both these countries, our people are stuck there. On 16th June, we wrote to External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar appealing to the Government of India to evacuate the pilgrims stuck in Iran and Iraq.'

The conflict between Israel and Iran entered the fifth day on Tuesday, with both sides trading missile strikes. Civilians in key areas face waves of attacks. At least 224 people have been killed in Iran since the hostilities started, while 24 people have been killed in Israel, CNN reported.

Meanwhile, the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) on Tuesday claimed that it had killed Iran's senior-most military official and Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei's closest military advisor, Ali Shadmani, in an air force strike in Tehran.

In a post on X, IDF stated, 'For the second time in 5 days, the IDF has eliminated Iran's War-Time Chief of Staff, the regime's top military commander. Ali Shadmani, Iran's senior-most military official and Khamenei's closest military advisor, was killed in an IAF strike in central Tehran, following precise intelligence.'

The IDF has said that Israel's war against Iranian proxies continues on all fronts. According to the IDF, Israeli troops carried out a targeted operation to locate and map out large-scale underground Hamas infrastructure in Khan Yunis.

'Our war against Iranian proxies is on all fronts: Over the past two weeks, our troops conducted a targeted operation to locate and map out large-scale underground Hamas infrastructure in the area of the European Hospital in Khan Yunis, where the body of Mohammed Sinwar was found. We sealed the tunnel by pouring approximately 250 cubic meters of concrete into it. The operation in the area was carried out with precision and care to avoid damaging the hospital building,' the IDF posted on X.

Last week, Israel launched a massive airstrike on Iranian military and nuclear sites, in a military operation named 'Operation Rising Lion,' in response to which Iran fired ballistic missiles at Israeli cities. (ANI)