Israel saves 400 white helmets from Syrian regime attacks

For the first time, the Netanyahu government allows evacuation through its territory from the war broke out

AMAN.-


Israel
rescued hundreds of white helmets last night, an organization of lifeguards, and their families from a combat zone in southern Syria, where they had been caught in the middle of an offensive by the government of Bashar al-Assad. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu explained yesterday that the President of the United States,


Donald Trump
and the Prime Minister of Canada, Justin Trudeau, among others, had asked him to evacuate the members of the White Helmets

. "These are people who have saved lives and now their lives are in danger. I allowed them to be transferred by Israel to other countries as an important humanitarian measure, "Netanyahu said in a videotaped statement

White Helmets evacuated to Jordan were trapped in the Syrian provinces of Quneitra and Daraa, in the south of the country, said White Helmets chief Raed Sale, who said that "they were in danger because of repeated threats from Russia and the Syrian regime. "

This is the first time in seven years Syrian civil war that Israel allows Syrians to flee fighting across its territory.

Although Israeli sources have not indicated the number of people, the Jordanian news agency Petra noted that Jordan allowed 800 people to enter the country.

However, at the end of the day, the Jordanian Ministry Foreign Affairs Signal Only 422 had arrived on its territory.

In the next three months White Helmets will continue to travel to Germany, Great Britain and Canada, where they will receive asylum.

German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas informed that Germany would receive some of the Syrian refugees. "The White Helmets have saved more than 100,000 people since the beginning of the Syrian conflict," Maas told the German newspaper.
Bild . Their work deserves admiration and respect, and Germany has supported them "by conviction," the minister said. According to the newspaper, about fifty of them will eventually remain in Germany

Established in 2013 to address the lack of emergency services in areas controlled by the opposition in Syria, the l 'rester,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,, volunteer organization White Helmets helped Save the victims of bombed buildings and fires, and give them first aid.

They also taught civilians how to take refuge in case of bombing and how to rebuild damaged infrastructure. They became famous thanks to the videos on the social networks in which they appeared saving the survivors.

The Syrian authorities and the official media have repeatedly accused the White Helmets of lying about government attacks and having links with extremists. . The group denies it and assures that it is neutral, and that its objectives are humanitarian.

The White Helmets denounced the death of many volunteers while doing their work and in 2016 they received the Right Livelihood Award, known as the Alternative Nobel Prize. 19659011] The Syrian Army, supported by Russia, launched an offensive on June 19 in southern Syria and has made progress in recent weeks by taking many villages. After the military offensive, the Syrian army controls 90% of the province of Quneitra.

Many people fled to the border area near the Golan Heights, occupied by Israel in 1967 and annexed later. Others fled to Jordan, home to 1.3 million people displaced by the war in Syria.

Israel remains neutral in the neighboring country's war, but bombs targets, mainly weapons to the Shiite militia of Hezbollah. , a Lebanese group allied to Damascus and linked to Iran, the great regional enemy of Israel.

The Jewish state has provided medical assistance in recent years to thousands of wounded Syrians and sent humanitarian aid, but refuses to receive refugees.

Agencies AFP and DPA