IDF ends humanitarian aid program for Syrians after 5 years

The Israel Defense Forces announces that it has officially shuttered its “Operation Good Neighbor” program, ending over five years of humanitarian assistance that the Jewish state has given Syrian nationals near the border.

The military first began allowing injured Syrians into Israel for medical care in early 2013, first treating them in field hospitals and later inside Israeli hospitals. A small number of Israeli non-governmental groups were also allowed to pass humanitarian aid across the border.

This assistance expanded considerably in 2016 with the creation of “Operation Good Neighbor,” which saw far more material assistance being transported into Syria, as well as the creation of a day clinic on the border and a program to allow Syrians into Israeli hospitals for non-battlefield ailments.

Last week, Foreign Policy magazine, which is not subject to Israel’s censor, also reported that the Jewish state gave military aid to rebel groups in southern Syria over the years in exchange for those opposition forces fighting to keep Iran-backed groups out of the region.

According to the IDF, over 4,900 Syrians were brought into Israeli hospitals for medical treatment since 2013, including 1,300 children.

Another 7,000 people were treated in the day clinic on the border, known as Mazor Ladach, whose name means “relief for the suffering.”

In addition, over the course of five years, Israel transported into Syria 1,700 tons of food; 1.1 million liters of fuel; 26,000 cases of medical equipment and medication; 20 generators; 40 vehicles; 630 tents; 350 tons of clothing; 8,200 packages of diapers; and 49,000 cases of baby food.

The Israeli military says that despite the ongoing humanitarian problems in southwestern Syria it is ending the program now that Syrian dictator Bashar Assad has taken control of the area, after an offensive that he launched earlier in the summer forced the remaining rebel groups to surrender.

“The large and long-running humanitarian activity has come to an end with the return fo the Syrian regime to southern Syria,” the army says in a statement.

— Judah Ari Gross