IDF called in to assist at airport and at call centers for arriving Ukraine refugees
Nearly 100 soldiers, some Ukrainian- and Russian-speaking, tasked with directing immigrants, manning phone lines; task force, Defense Ministry to run airport operations base
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleEmanuel (Mannie) Fabian is The Times of Israel's military correspondent
Defense Minister Benny Gantz has allocated nearly 100 Israel Defense Forces soldiers, some of who speak Ukrainian and Russian, to assist with the thousands of refugees fleeing the war in Europe and arriving at Israel.
Gantz held a situational assessment with top defense officials on Friday, including the commander of the IDF’s Home Front Command, to decide how the army will assist the refugee situation in Israel.
Some 50 soldiers are to be tasked with helping direct those arriving at Ben Gurion Airport near Tel Aviv, and another 40 will assist the Jewish Agency’s call centers, serving those interested in coming to Israel, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Members of the Home Front Command’s “Alon” coronavirus task force and the ministry’s National Emergency Management Authority will manage a base of operations established at the airport, it said.
The IDF was also preparing to run Hebrew study centers for immigrants, using teacher-soldiers, if needed, the ministry said.
“The defense establishment and the IDF will provide any operational assistance that may be required,” Gantz said, vowing to allocate more troops if necessary.
Dozens of rooms have been reserved by the ministry at Tel Aviv’s Dan Panorama Hotel for refugees who are awaiting answers to whether they can enter the country or not.
The hotel was partially operated by the Home Front Command as a state-run quarantine facility amid the height of the coronavirus pandemic.
The move came after footage Thursday showed many people, young and old, sitting in plastic chairs, laying on thin mattresses, or resting on Ben Gurion’s terminal floor, waiting to be seen. Some of the refugees were said to be waiting to enter the country for several days, without being given adequate food or a suitable place to rest.
Interior Minister Ayelet Shaked ordered a change to the policy, and by Friday afternoon, Ukrainians who were waiting at the airport were taken to the hotel where they can stay until their status is clarified. Home Front Command officers and troops are managing their stay there.
תמונות של ראשוני הפליטים האוקראיניים במלון הקורונה דן פנורמה ת"א. בהודעות הרשמיות מכנים אותם עולים. יעבירו כאן שבת ראשונה בחסות חיילי פיקוד העורף.
בפועל, ברור שזו סנונית ראשונה בסיוע הצה"לי pic.twitter.com/wkn0tFhntn— יואב זיתון (@yoavzitun) March 11, 2022
Israel is reportedly nearing a 5,000-person cap on Ukrainian refugees arriving since the start of the war who are not eligible for citizenship, set by Shaked on Tuesday, with estimates saying that 3,500 have already arrived in Israel. Twenty thousand Ukrainians who arrived before and since the start of the war have been granted leave to stay.
In addition, all Jewish Ukrainians are allowed in and given citizenship under the Law of Return.
The UN on Friday said over 2.5 million Ukrainian refugees have been displaced since the invasion began on February 24, calling it Europe’s fastest-growing refugee crisis since World War II.
Agencies and Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.
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