Soldiers, reservists and permanent staff rescued and provided medical treatment to thousands in 29 IDF humanitarian aid missions worldwide. The first mission was in 1953; the most recent ended on December 14, 2019. The ethos of the IDF – of the State of Israel – is that human life comes first. The Home Front Command search and rescue teams, doctors, and other military personnel responded quickly, effectively, and compassionately to natural disasters and other crises. The IDF remained at the locations for days, months or years. The IDF humanitarian aid to Syrian civilians, described below, continued for 5 years.
Types of natural disasters and other crises
- Earthquakes
- A typhoon
- A tsunami
- Floods
- Civil wars
- A burst dam
- A building collapse
- Bombings
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People, not politics
The IDF values human life over political or religious differences. IDF humanitarian aid is based on Jewish values. United Nations (UN) Ambassador Danny Danon spoke at a 2019 UN exhibit on Israel’s humanitarian aid efforts:
For Israel, human life will always take priority over politics. Jewish tradition teaches that when you save a life, it’s as if you have saved an entire universe. Crisis and tragedy do not discriminate, so neither can we. Let us protect life by any means necessary, and together build a stronger and more caring world.
Rapid response
The IDF aid mission was the first to arrive after a bomb exploded near the US embassy in Kenya in 1998 and in Mexico in 2017 after two earthquakes killed 469 people and left 250.000 homeless (IDF website). Danon said:
Despite years of provocation and rocket attacks, Israel is always the first to arrive when human life is involved.
Juan Ramón de la Fuente, Ambassador to the United Nations, spoke at the UN exhibit. He said:
Other countries can ‘absolutely’ learn from Israel’s rapid reaction time and its ability to be on site, build field hospitals and have the necessary human resources and infrastructure in place mere hours after a natural disaster occurs around the world.
Highly effective
Ten experts from the Home Front Command provided IDF humanitarian aid in Albania from December 4-14, 2019 after an earthquake killed more than 50 people and injured 3,000. The IDF reported that as a consequence of the aid, schools and hospitals reopened and more than 1,600 families moved back to their homes.
Caring
IDF humanitarian aid represents the State of Israel’s commitment to care for others. De la Fuente said that Israel’s aid differed from that of the other 25 countries that sent aid to Mexico after two consecutive earthquakes in 2017 not only for Israel’s “coordinated efforts to send food, mattresses and blankets” but also for Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s personal visit to Mexico and the deployment of 72 engineers, rescuers, and other experts to visit the affected areas and provide assistance. De la Fuente said:
We acknowledge with our deepest gratitude to the one that came from Israel. The support we received from Israel stands out for different reasons. Thank you again for your solidarity, your efficient help, and most of all, for your friendship.
After the December 2019 aid mission to Albania, the IDF tweeted
After a devastating earthquake hit Albania, we sent our soldiers to help the Albanian people in their time of need. Because that’s what friends do.
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Long term compassionate aid
The longest IDF humanitarian aid program -aid to Syrians – lasted 5 years. It started in 2013 and ended in 2018. Many aspects of this project demonstrate the IDF’s compassion. The initiative started after an injured man crossed the border to request medical treatment. IDF staff treated him and many other Syrians during the next few years. Lt. Col. Dr. Tomer Koller was medical officer of the Bashan Division in the Golan Heights. In an article published on the IDF website in April 2017, he said:
In light of the atrocities taking place in Syria…, IDF soldiers continue to provide medical care to wounded Syrians, as we’ve done for more than four years. The treatment of wounded Syrians is continuous, and is carried out on a near-daily basis. It’s our duty as members of the Medical Corps to treat the injured – both the ally and the enemy. To us, they’re injured people who need help. About 2,800 injured Syrians have entered Israel to receive medical care, and the number continues to rise.
The IDF reported that 600 Syrians were treated in Israeli hospitals in 2016.
In 2016 the IDF Northern Command created Operation Good Neighbor. This was an initiative by which to “expand humanitarian aid efforts” (IDF website) for 200,000 residents of Southwestern Syria. Operation Good Neighbor coordinated medical, infrastructure, and civilian humanitarian aid. Through this program, more than 4,900 injured Syrians-including 1,300 children – accessed medical treatment in Israel. Medics treated Syrians at the border, then transferred them to Israeli hospitals. The IDF created a field hospital at a military post in the Golan Heights near the border. 7,000 patients received treatment in the day clinic. Security was a concern.
Lt Col. A. said:
We thought about every security detail of this compound. We have a secure bunker that emergency staff can use, security guards patrolling the area, and operational activity in the area that enables the compound to operate in an absolute routine even beyond the fence.
Two medical providers described their experiences. They spoke with IDF reporters during Operation Good Neighbor:
Based on my 20-year medical career, I can truly say that the medical care we have provided to our neighbors here in the north of Israel is one of the most significant efforts to treat those in need that I have ever witnessed,” said Col. Dr. Noam Fink, the Chief Medical Officer of the Northern Command. “I deeply hope that our contribution will have a direct impact on the lives of our Syrian neighbors.
A medic in the Golan Brigade, Sgt. Aviya treated injured Syrians on a daily basis. She described her first encounter as a medic:
My team and I were called to treat a 10-year-old Syrian boy who was badly injured by an explosion on the other side of the border. When we met him, his eyes were full of tears and he was in shock because of everything that was happening around him – he was wounded and confused. We gave him first aid and prepared him for a quick evacuation to a hospital in Israel. When we finished treating him, the kid looked up at us and gave us this little bashful smile. I understood that we may have just saved the life of this child, but no less important, we created this bridge between two worlds. That’s the beauty of being a part of this team.
While providing IDF humanitarian aid, staff cared for individuals’ basic needs: food, cleanliness, the opportunity to play. Lt. Col. A. described the Syrians’ experience in the clinic. He said:
Take, for example, a Syrian mother who comes with her children. At the end of the day, she leaves the clinic with healthier children and an aid kit from the State of Israel that includes food, basic hygiene products, and medicine. A day at the clinic also includes time in the playroom and a hot meal.
In addition to medical care, the IDF humanitarian aid in Operation Good Neighbor included infrastructure and civilian aid: fuel for heating, operating water wells, and bakery ovens, also generators, water pipes, and school equipment. Civilian aid included 40 tons of flour for bakeries, 225 tons of food, 12,000 packages of baby formula, 1,800 packages of diapers, 12 tons of shoes, and 55 tons of cold weather clothing.
The IDF humanitarian aid in Operation Good Neighbor exemplifies the compassion and ethical code that guide the IDF and Israeli society.
Koller said:
The story of the treatment of all those who need it is a story of compassion and the IDF’s ethical code. Even though we take care not to get involved in the internal fighting in Syria, the treatment of any injured person who needs help – regardless of nationality or which side of the border they come from – stands above all, and this is who we are as a society.
The IDF canceled Operation Good Neighbor in 2018 after Syrian dictator Bashar Assad retook control of southwestern Syria.
28 other IDF humanitarian aid missions
- 1953 Ionian Islands, Greece: earthquake. Over 1,000 died. The Navy assisted survivors and provided medical treatment.
- 1975 Cambodia: refugees from war between Vietnam and Cambodia. For a month, a team provided medical care to refugees living in camps.
- 1985 Mexico: 4 earthquakes, more than 10,000 died. Medical and search and rescue teams – 350 reservists were called up within three days of the earthquakes.
- 1988 Armenia: earthquake. Almost 60,000 died. Rescue workers rescued 14 people and kept them alive until their transfer to hospitals. Medical supplies.
- 1989 Romania: riots. Doctors, surgeons, and 8 tons of medical equipment and food.
- 1992 Croatia: civil war. 13 tons of humanitarian aid.
- 1994 Argentina: terrorist attack on major Jewish organization. 85 died, hundreds injured. Search and rescue and other teams.
- 1994 Goma, Democratic Republic of Congo: refugees of Rwandan civil war. Team of 270 on a 40 -day IDF humanitarian aid mission. Field hospital. Equipment, food, and clothes.
- 1998 Kenya: bombing near the US embassy in Nairobi, Kenya. IDF sent 170: search and rescue and medical.
- 1999 Macedonia: refugee crisis. IDF sent 60: created 100-bed field hospital.
- 1999 Turkey: earthquake. Home Front Command rescued 12 survivors and set up field hospital. They provided treatment to 1,200, performed 40 operations, delivered 15 babies.
- 1999 Greece: earthquake. Search and rescue – supplied heavy engineering tools.
- 2001 India: earthquake. Search and rescue teams built a 100-bed field hospital, treated 1,300, performed 52 surgeries, and delivered 12 babies.
- 2004 Egypt: terrorism. Medical and search and rescue teams. Stayed for three days.
- 2004 Sri Lanka: earthquake, tsunami, and flooding. Doctors, a member of search and rescue team, and a representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Sent medical and other supplies.
- 2005 New Orleans, USA: Hurricane Katrina. 80 tons of humanitarian aid.
- 2006 Kenya: building collapse. IDF sent 80 search and rescue.
- 2010 Haiti and the Dominican Republic: earthquake. IDF teams rescued survivors, created field hospitals. Treated more than 1,110 patients, completed 319 surgeries, and delivered 16 babies, including three caesarian sections.
- 2010 Colombia: flooding and landslides. Medical care. 50 tons of equipment: 20 tons of food, 5,000 medical kits, 2,000 blankets, 1,000 ponchos, 1,000 mattresses, and 100 tents. Medical care.
- 2011 Japan: earthquake and tsunami waves. IDF set up medical clinic with specialties: pediatrics, surgical, maternity, gynecological, and otolaryngology wards, an optometry department, a laboratory, a pharmacy and an intensive care unit. Treated 220.
- 2011 Turkey: earthquake. IDF treated survivors.
- 2012 Bulgaria: terrorism. Hezbollah bombed a bus carrying 42 Israelis. Medical care and assistance with transport of injured.
- 2012 Ghana: large department store collapsed. Specialized experts and equipment. Rescued 78.
- 2013 Philippines: typhoon. IDF sent 148 search, rescue, and medical. They set up an “advanced, multi-department field hospital equipped with approximately 100 tons of humanitarian and medical supplies from Israel.”
- 2015 Nepal: earthquake. Team of 260: search and rescue and medical. They built a “state-of-the-art,” multi-department field hospital. Treated 1,600 patients, delivered eight babies, and performed 85 surgeries. IDF sent 95 tons of humanitarian aid.
- 2016-2018: Syrian Border, Golan Heights Operation Good Neighbor.
- 2017 Mexico: earthquake. IDF sent 70, including 25 engineers to determine the harm. They traveled to Mexico on the first night of the Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah.
- 2018: Golan Heights: rescued members of White Helmets humanitarian organization and their families from Syria.
- 2019 Brazil: dam collapse. Used naval sonar, drones, and cellular location technology.
- 2019 Albania: earthquake. Team of 10 from Home Front Command. Result: hospitals and schools reopened and over 1600 moved back home.
IDF photos of soldiers, reservists, and permanent staff reveal the powerful human connection that has been formed through the IDF humanitarian aid. A doctor smiles while holding an infant. A child hugs a soldier. Four Israelis – one wearing gloves – peer with delight at mother and her newborn baby. The next time a natural or other disaster occurs anywhere in the world, check the news. The IDF might be there.
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