IDF to deliver 1,000 tons of food to Bnei Brak residents ahead of Passover

The Israel Defense Forces’ 98th Paratroopers Division primary mission is delivering roughly 1,000 tons (2 million pounds) of food to needy residents of the ultra-Orthodox city of Bnei Brak before the upcoming Passover holiday on Wednesday evening, a senior military official says.

This is expected to be an incredibly difficult task, requiring the hundreds of soldiers operating inside the coronavirus-stricken Tel Aviv suburb to work days and nights to get the food to the people who need it in time, the officer says, speaking on condition of anonymity.

The senior official tells reporters that while this is the 98th Division’s current focus, it is not their only one. The soldiers — from the divisions’ Paratroopers Brigade and Commando Brigade — are also working to assist medical authorities to evacuate confirmed coronavirus carriers and otherwise help local authorities.

“[Passover] is just a point where we’ll halt activities out of respect for the holiday and then we’ll continue [operating],” the officer says.

He says it is not yet clear when the military will complete its operations inside Bnei Brak.

The officer says he is not sufficiently familiar with the IDF’s plans for sending troops to other cities around the country to comment on the matter.

Though residents and officials of Bnei Brak, as well as some ultra-Orthodox lawmakers, have publicly condemned and criticized the military’s presence inside the city, the officer says that his troops have yet to encounter a single “irregular incident” of violence or opposition.

“The opposite is true,” he says, citing cases of residents crying with happiness upon receiving assistance from troops.

— Judah Ari Gross