Israeli humanitarian operations during the Syrian Civil War

Operation Good Neighbor (Hebrew: שכנות טובה, Shkhenut Tova, lit. "Good neighborliness") was a directive of the Northern Command's Division 210 of Israel Defence Forces (IDF) launched in June 2016 to provide humanitarian assistance to Syrian citizens who were affected by the Syrian Civil War. The IDF kept the operation confidential until announcing it in July 2017.

Thousands of Syrians received medical treatment as part of the initiative, both in Israel and in Syrian territory, and a significant amount of supplies were delivered, including over a million liters of fuel. Israel was also reported to have supplied Syrian rebels with cash, weapons, and other aid throughout the operation, an allegation it would admit to in 2019.

In September 2018, the IDF announced the closure of the operation after the Assad government regained control over the entire southern region of Syria.

Background
Israeli President Reuven Rivlin (center) meeting with Director of Rebecca Sieff Hospital Dr. Salman Zarka (left) and director of the orthopedic department, Prof. Alexander Lerner (right) in Safed, receiving the book Complicated War Trauma and Care of the Wounded which deals with the medical and humanitarian assistance granted to Syrian refugees at the hospital.

According to the IDF, aid to Syrian civilians was motivated by both conscience and security interests. The IDF did not want to stand by in the face of the humanitarian crisis in Syria, and aid could create a less hostile environment across the border.[1]

Overview

The directive was established in June 2016, and its first activity occurred in August of the same year.[2] The army kept the operation confidential until announcing it in July 2017. During this period, from June 2016 to July 2017, the initiative conducted over 110 different aid operations.[3]

The IDF relied on local contacts and operated in numerous villages near the border, primarily in the Quneitra district. As of July 2017, the primary recipients of the aid were the approximately 200,000 residents of the Hauran region.[4]

Brig. Gen. Yaniv Asor of the IDF did not perceive the aid operations as hindering their mandate to guard the Golan Heights border. He considered them a significant aspect of his defense approach with operational impact. According to Asor's explanation, the civilian aid created better neighborly relations, which helped prevent terrorist activity. It was also expected to aid in restraining and repelling hostile elements along the border.[5]

Medical aid
IDF soldiers carry a wounded man on a stretcher

According to the IDF, over 4,000 Syrians were brought to Israel to receive treatment, including hundreds of children.[1][6]

Medical aid enabled the crossing of hundreds of children through the border for one-day treatment, assistance in the establishment of two medical centers, the transfer of medication surfaces and items of advanced medical equipment, and the establishment of a field clinic for routine medical treatment. A clinic called Camp Ichay was established by American humanitarian organization Friendships.

In 2017, a maternity hospital was opened in the Syrian village of Bariqa, without any equipment. Following its outreach to Israel, incubators, anesthesia machines and ultrasound devices were sent. The aid was partially funded from humanitarian organizations and partly from the state budget.[7]

In August 2017, the Mazor Ladach (meaning "Bandaging Those In Need" in Hebrew) field clinic was established in an abandoned military outpost located in Israeli-occupied southern Golan Heights, close to the border with Syria. The clinic worked in partnership with Frontier Alliance International of the united states. During its approximately one-year operation, it provided medical care to around 6,800 Syrians before its closure in August 2018.[8]

An IDF soldier handling aid supplies

Around 400 families lived in tent camps near the border and the rest had lived in villages or in open fields. About a third of the residents were displaced persons or refugees, half of whom were minors.[4] The patients brought to Israel for treatment were mostly treated in hospitals in northern Israel, including at the Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya.[9][10] and the Rebecca Sieff Hospital in Safed.[11][12] The army also provided insulin for about 100 people.[5]

Civil assistance and infrastructure

Under the initiative of Operation Good Neighbor, a significant amount of humanitarian aid was delivered, including medical supplies, food, fuel, and clothing.[8] According to the IDF, as part of the operation, 450,000 liters of fuel for heating, operating water wells, and bakeries' ovens were transferred to Syria. It also claims to have supplied seven generators, water pipes for Syrian infrastructure reconstruction, and equipment for a temporary school in the region.[1]

Aid to Syrian rebels

Israel was alleged to have supplied Syrian rebels with cash, weapons, and other aid throughout the operation.

Brig. Gen. Yaniv Asor of the IDF stated that the army was not providing funding inside Syria, but his statement contradicted a report from The Wall Street Journal, which mentions a local rebel leader claiming that Israel had secretly offered and provided cash, food, fuel, medical supplies,[5] and even monthly stipends to Syrian rebels.[13] The report highlighted that Israel's support to the groups was relatively small compared to aid supplied by Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, and the United States.[14]

According to foreign reports, the objective behind Israel providing weapons and financial support to rebel groups in Operation Good Neighbor was to deter troops affiliated with Hezbollah and Iran from approaching Israel's border.[13]

Closure

On September 13, 2018, the IDF announced the closure of Operation Good Neighbor following the return of the Assad government to power in the entirety of southern Syria and along the de facto border with Israel, including in the Syrian-administered part of the Golan Heights.[11]

References
  1. "Operation Good Neighbor". www.idf.il. Retrieved 2023-07-15.
  2. Gross, Judah Ari. "Operation Good Neighbor: Israel reveals its massive humanitarian aid to Syria". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2023-07-15.
  3. "IDF details scope of Israeli aid to Syrians afflicted by war". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2023-07-15.
  4. Oster, Marcy (2017-07-20). "Israeli operation assisting thousands of Syrians harmed by civil war". Jewish Telegraphic Agency. Retrieved 2023-07-15.
  5. "Food, Gasoline and Medical Supplies: Israeli Army Reveals Extent of Humanitarian Aid to Syria". Haaretz. July 19, 2017.
  6. "Operation Good Neighbor: Bringing injured and sick Syrians into Israel". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2023-07-15.
  7. Yoav Limor, האור בקצה המלחמה, on Israel Hayom website, December 28, 2017
  8. "IDF closes field clinic providing aid to injured Syrians". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2023-07-15.
  9. "Syrian civil war, on Israel's doorstep, brings swirl of changing attitudes". Christian Science Monitor. ISSN 0882-7729. Retrieved 2023-07-15.
  10. Gradstein, Linda (2018-07-24). "An IDF Program that Saves the Lives of Syrian Children". Hadassah Magazine. Retrieved 2023-07-15.
  11. "IDF ends 'Good Neighbor' humanitarian aid program for Syrian civilians". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2023-07-15.
  12. "IDF details scope of Israeli aid to Syrians afflicted by war". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2023-07-15.
  13. "Foreign report: Israel armed Syrian rebels to fight Iran proxy and Isis". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. Retrieved 2023-07-15.
  14. Gross, Judah Ari. "IDF chief finally acknowledges that Israel supplied weapons to Syrian rebels". www.timesofisrael.com. Retrieved 2023-07-15.
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