Israel provides more humanitarian aid to displaced Syrians in Golan

“The IDF is monitoring developments in southern Syria and is prepared for a variety of scenarios, including continued humanitarian assistance to Syrians."

By ANNA AHRONHEIM
Updated: JULY 22, 2018 01:53
IDF transfer Syrians humanitarian aid with Operation Good Neighbor, July 19, 2018 (IDF Spokesperson's Unit)
The IDF carried out six operations this past week to provide humanitarian aid to displaced Syrians in the Golan Heights, the military announced on Thursday.
Led by the Bashan Brigade, 72 tons of food, 70 tents and 9,000 liters of fuel, as well as medicine and medical supplies, clothing and toys were transferred across the Golan Heights frontier into Syria.
“The IDF continues to assist the Syrians in the camps established in the Syrian Golan Heights, where thousands of Syrians live in poor conditions without access to water, electricity, food or basic necessities,” read the statement released Thursday by the IDF Spokesman’s Unit.
“The IDF is monitoring developments in southern Syria and is prepared for a variety of scenarios, including continued humanitarian assistance to Syrians,” continued the statement adding that the IDF will not allow Syrians to cross into Israel and the military will “continue to defend the security interests of the State of Israel.”
The IDF has been providing life-saving humanitarian assistance to Syrians in the Golan Heights as part of Operation “Good Neighbors”, which was launched in June 2016. The Israeli military has been providing among other things over 1,524 tons of food, 250 tons of clothes, 947,520 liters of fuel, 21 generators, and 24,900 palettes of medical equipment and medicine, all while maintaining the principle of non-involvement in the Syrian civil war.
Major Dr. Sergei Kotikov, a senior IDF officer involved in Operation Good Neighbor, told The Jerusalem Post in a recent interview near the border with Syria that the IDF has increased its aid and food to Syrians since the beginning of the current offensive.
Earlier this week, some 200 Syrian refugees marched to the minefield alongside Israel’s Golan Heights border, with some waving white flags, hoping to cross into the Jewish state.


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