Israel has also recently provided significant and life-saving humanitarian care. In an Israeli effort in 2018, the country orchestrated a route whereby the 422 White Helmet volunteers and family members were taken to the Syrian-Israeli border, where they were then surreptitiously picked up by members of Israel’s military. But Syrian dictator Bashar al-Assad declared them terrorists, and so, facing perilous danger, they had to leave. The civil defence volunteers, familiar for their trademark white helmets, worked in civil-war-ravaged Syria, and they became known internationally for rescuing civilians from bombed-out buildings. More than three years ago, the Israeli government res cued more than 400 members of the Syrian White Helmets from certain harm. And as impressive as IsraAid has been on the international stage, it is by no means an exception in Israel in fact, the group reflects Israeli values and society as a whole. In the past, the group sent rescue teams to Mozambique, Italy, the United States, South Sudan, Haiti, the Philippines and elsewhere in the immediate aftermath of natural disasters. The effort by IsraAid was, by all measures, an incredible feat in its own right, but this operation was especially sensitive as Israel and Afghanistan don’t have diplomatic relations with each other.ĭespite those challenges, rescuing these 167 Afghans was far from the first daring effort by IsraAid, which provides humanitarian assistance in the wake of emergencies around the world, regardless of the race, ethnicity or religion of the recipient country. The mission is also a byproduct of the groundbreaking Abraham Accords, a recent agreement between Israel, the United States, the UAE and Bahrain, and shows that co-operation between these countries is real and tangible. This is remarkable in itself, as the Emiratis offered to host our group because they knew that an Israeli-led mission would be secure, and competently managed. When the UAE heard that an Israeli organization was rescuing Muslim Afghans, they stepped up to volunteer to be the transit country, while the Afghans applied to be accepted as refugees in Canada. IsraAid used diplomatic back channels to find host countries for the refugees. The first group of 44 refugees flew to the United Arab Emirates, and a second group of 123 ended up travelling to Albania. The tremor was felt as far away as neighboring Guatemala.The Israel-based NGO worked in dangerous circumstances to find the Afghans safe houses during their journey, as well as safe passage through Tajikistan. The cornice of a hotel came down in the southern tourist city of Oaxaca, a witness said. Windows also shattered at Mexico City airport and power went out in several neighborhoods of the capital, affecting more than 1 million people. Rescue workers labored through the night in badly affected areas to check for people trapped in collapsed buildings. Some of the worst initial reports came from Juchitan in Oaxaca state, where sections of the town hall, a hotel, a bar and other buildings were reduced to rubble. The quake was apparently stronger than a devastating 1985 tremor that flattened swathes of Mexico City and killed thousands, but this time damage to the city was limited.Ī number of buildings suffered severe damage in parts of southern Mexico. Tsunami warnings were issued in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Panama, Nicaragua and Costa Rica.” The founding director of iAID, Shachar Zahavi, said: “iAID is in touch with its local partners and UN officials who are monitoring the current crisis on the ground. The aid agency specializes in harnessing Israeli innovation & technologies to assist communities in need worldwide. If required, an iAID team of 12 rescue experts will travel to Mexico in order to assist in efforts to trace people buried under rubble.
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