Israel Seeking Ways to Aid Syrian Refugees, Netanyahu Says

Israel is exploring ways to boost its humanitarian aid to Syrian refugees, Netanyahu said. 

Israel is seeking ways to provide aid to Syria’s swelling refugee population, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Tuesday.

Speaking in Jerusalem at the annual GPO civil New Year’s toast, Netanyahu said that Israel sees “the tragedy, the terrible suffering of civilians, and I’ve asked the Foreign Ministry to seek ways to expand our medical assistance to the civilian casualties of the Syrian tragedy, specifically in Aleppo, where we’re prepared to take in wounded women and children and also men if they’re not combatants.”

“We’d like to do that, bring them to Israel, take care of them in our hospitals, as we’ve done with thousands of Syrian civilians. We’re looking into the ways of doing this, but it’s being explored as we speak,” he stated.

Several Israeli politicians have called for a larger Israeli role in Syria, while the government is looking to balance the security threats emanating from Syria with its desire to provide humanitarian aid to those in need.

Israel has long been lending aid to Syrian victims of the civil war. IDF medics and Israeli doctors have treated thousands of Syrian patients, while Israel has transferred humanitarian aid to Syrian situated adjacent to its border.

In one of the latest civilian ventures in Israel launched on Syria’s behalf, Israelis have come together to raise funds for humanitarian aid to Syrian victims of the civil war, which has been ravaging the country for the past half decade.

By: Max Gelber, United with Israel