Senior IDF officials on Sunday attended a special ceremony marking the dissolution of a special administration heading the military's efforts to aid Syrians affected by the civil war raging off Israel's northern border.
Launched in the summer of 2016, Operation Good Neighbor has provided tons of food, medicine and clothing to displaced Syrians. Israel also provided life-saving medical care to hundreds of wounded Syrians, who were admitted to hospitals in northern Israel as needed.
"Despite the newfound stability of the regime in Syria, this sector still poses many complex challenges for Israel," GOC Northern Command Maj. Gen. Yoel Strick said at the ceremony, held on an IDF base near the Golan Heights border.
"We are well aware of Iran's increasing attempts to establish itself militarily in many areas of Syria," he continued. "We see how the Iranians are trying to transfer weapons to Hezbollah in Lebanon through Syria. We know that Hezbollah is trying to establish terrorist infrastructures on the Syrian Golan Heights, near our border, but the IDF will not allow this to happen."
Strick further warned that "anyone seeking to undermine Israeli civilians' security, in the immediate or distant future, will encounter a strong and determined response by a military that is well aware of what is going on beyond its borders. We will counter those who want to harm us."
Lt. Col. Eyal Dror, who headed the Operation Good Neighbor Administration, told Israel Hayom he felt "privileged to have overseen this operation, which in many ways epitomized Israel's defense concept."
"This was an amazing project that illustrated how Israel makes the decision to aid the civilian population in an enemy state," he said.
