TEL AVIV, July 22. /TASS/. Israel has evacuated members of the White Helmets organization from Syria at the request of the US, Canada and some European countries, Israeli Foreign Ministry Spokesman Emmanuel Nahshon said on Twitter on Sunday.
"Upon request of the US, Canada and European states Israel has completed a humanitarian effort to rescue members of a Syrian civil organization ("White Helmets") and families. They were evacuated from the war zone in Southern Syria to a neighboring country," the tweet reads.
CNN reported earlier citing diplomatic sources that Washington and its allies had been discussing the possibility of evacuating White Helmets members from Syria. According to CNN, a number of countries, including the United States, France and Canada, have been holding consultations on evacuating about 1,000 White Helmets members and their families. US President Donald Trump emphasized the need to evacuate them at the NATO summit held earlier this month.
Israel’s Galei Tzahal radio station said that 800 people had been evacuated to Jordan from southern Syria, where government forces continue an operation against opposition units.
The White Helmets were one of the non-government organizations that alleged a chemical weapons attack had taken place in Eastern Ghouta’s town of Douma on April 7. The Russian Foreign Ministry slammed these statements as a bogus story, while Russia’s Defense Ministry pointed out that the White Helmets were known for spreading fabricated news. On April 9, officers from the Russian Center for Reconciliation of the opposing sides in Syria visited Douma but did not find any traces of chemical weapons.
The United States has been funding the White Helmets since 2013, providing more than $33 mln to them.