“They saved over 115,00 lives in Syria.”
Jeremy Hunt, UK Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs
Israel has evacuated a number of White Helmet rescuers from Syria to safety in Jordan through the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. Around 422 Syrians were transported, including 98 White Helmet volunteers and their family members.
Why are they being evacuated?
News emerged that the secret rescue operation came about after discreet high-level talks held between the US, the UK and other unnamed European countries. The alliance of Western powers was concerned that volunteers’ lives were at risk and required ‘immediate protection’.
The new UK foreign secretary Jeremy Hunt released a joint statement:
“White Helmets have been the target of attacks and, due to their high profile, we judged that, in these particular circumstances, the volunteers required immediate protection. We therefore took steps with the aim of affording that protection to as many of the volunteers and their families as possible.”
The initial plan, as revealed in a tweet by Jordanian Foreign Minister Ayman Safadi, was to evacuate 800 volunteers. However, just over half of that number managed to escape, leaving the international community concerned about the safety of those left behind.
The White Helmets – who are they?
The White Helmets were founded in 2014 and are officially known as the Syria Civil Defence. They are a taskforce of approximately 3,000 volunteers from 115 centres across Syria. The majority of their activity consists of search and rescue operations after bombings and in response to medical and humanitarian crises that follow periods of heavy shelling. Working in accordance with the 1949 Geneva Conventions, the White Helmets work to protect civilians from danger, providing conditions to enable their survival. They are said to have saved over 115,000 lives during the Syrian conflict.
Training and funding of the White Helmets was supplied by a number of international governments including those of Western Europe, the US and Japan; the Turkish AKUT (Search and Rescue Association) and from independent donors and NGOs.
Since 2014, Mayday Rescue, a UK not-for-profit organisation founded by James Le Mesurier, has been the main source of support and training of the White Helmets. Le Mesurier is a British man with a background in military intelligence with loose connections to the world of private military contracting.
It is these connections and other allegations that have created propaganda fodder for opponents of the White Helmets. The Russian government, which is allied with President Assad, have accused the White Helmets of being aligned with Al-Qaeda, with an entire disinformation campaign being waged against them.
Israel bombing of West Syria
The operation was led by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and according to some reports is one of many cross-border operations that they have carried out with ease over the last five years. They have been lauded as heroes for the successful completion of this rescue mission, yet it was only the previous night that Israeli attacks were launched in West Syria.
The IDF released a self-congratulatory statement on twitter, saying:
The civilians were evacuated from the war zone in Southern Syria due to an immediate threat to their lives. The transfer of the displaced Syrians through Israel is an exceptional humanitarian gesture.
Syria’s official news agency SANA reported that Israel had launched airstrikes last night on the Syrian military regime. The targets are said to be Iranian forces and members of Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement deployed in that sector, that Israel are keen to eliminate.
The Israeli military has refused to comment; however, the strikes came shortly after Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu made a statement from his office on Israel’s determination to continue moves to stop Iran’s advances in Syria:
“We will not stop taking action in Syria against Iran’s attempts to establish a military presence there.”
In a similar strike last week at al-Nayrab airbase, it is estimated 22 people were killed including 9 Iranians.
Where will they go?
The UK, Canada and Germany have agreed to take in the rescued volunteers and their families. Canada has agreed to take up to 50 White Helmet volunteers and their families, around 250 people. The UK has also agreed to take in a number of the rescued volunteers, but the number has not yet been confirmed.
UPDATE: 27 July 2018 – Senior members of the White Helmets have called on the UN to rescue their colleagues who remain trapped in the south-west of Syria.