The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) operation “Good Neighbor” is providing thousands of Syrians engulfed in the brutal civil war across the border with medical assistance, humanitarian aid, food and basic infrastructure, Politico reported Saturday.
Since the special operation was launched in June 2016, after seven badly injured Syrians dragged themselves to the border fence to seek medical assistance from Israel, the IDF has deepened and expanded its outreach to the Syrian side.
Official figures show that more than 200 humanitarian operations have been conducted, 44 in the past month alone. Israel is sending boxes of baby formula and diapers, warm clothing and blankets, school supplies and fuel jerry cans. “Your neighbor could be closer to you than your brother,” read the blue sign in Arabic taped to dry spaghetti boxes.
Israel is no longer hiding its role in humanitarian operations in Syria, demonstrated by the IDF unit’s insignia next to the Arabic writing on the boxes. The commander of the “Good Neighbor” mission, Lt. Col. E (as he is identified per Israeli military guidelines), told Politico that having Hebrew written on the aid was a deliberate policy. “That’s the point,” he said. “They should know where it’s coming from.”
More recently, a medical clinic has been set up along the heavily fortified border fence, which is operated by a little-known U.S. humanitarian nongovernmental organization and protected by the IDF.
According to officials, two dozen children and their adult guardians are sometimes bussed into Israel at a time for medical treatment. Over 4,000 Syrians have already received such care in Israeli hospitals. “For a 5-year-old who has only known war, that day in Israel might be the best of their lives,” E said. “And no one can accuse me of helping terrorists. At the end a child is a child. They see that the Jews treat them with respect. They’re my ambassadors,” he added.
But the operation also has a strategic dimension, whereby Israel seeks to stabilize the border region. Various groups are fighting along the Syrian side of the fence, including a local Islamic State franchise, Al Qaeda-affiliated militants and more moderate Syrian rebels. Israel is concerned that any vacuum could be filed by Iran and Hezbollah, which are closing in on Israel from all sides, in a border region that may soon be a battlefront.
“I’m not doing all this for a Nobel Prize,” E. said. “I’m an officer in the IDF, and my job is to protect the State [of Israel]. But I do believe there is such a thing as win-win situations — even in the Middle East.”
[Photo: Times of Israel / YouTube ]