Syria may officially be an enemy country, but that hasn’t stopped dozens of Israeli individuals, organizations and government bodies – including the Israel Defense Forces – from doing all they can to alleviate human suffering in the country, even though giving this aid is often dangerous.
Israeli aid to the country comes in many forms, much of it under the radar. Nonprofit organization
Il4Syrians, which was founded by a private Israeli citizen at the start of the civil war in 2011, sends food, medicine, coats and basic supplies to Syrians in a perilous
cross-border mission.
With the help of transports organized by the IDF, some 2,500 Syrian men, women and children have received care in various
Israeli hospitals at the expense of Israeli taxpayers and donors. In addition, Israeli-American serial entrepreneur
Moti Kahanabought a bus to transport seriously ill or injured Syrian children to Israeli hospitals through his nonprofit foundation,
Amaliah, and the Yitzhak Rabin Foundation.
The
Israel Trauma Coalition trained clinicians, caregivers and volunteers in Berlin to treat
Syrian refugees in that German city.
Natan-International Humanitarian Aid, based in Tel Aviv, has provided trauma and post-trauma care to Syrian refugees in Jordan.
The nonprofit
IsraAID has been rescuing and providing
many forms of assistance to Syrian and other Middle East and African refugees pouring into European countries.
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