Amid the fierce fighting in southern Syria, IDF is gearing up to prevent a mass breach of the Golan border by thousands of refugees

Israel is preparing for the possibility that the latest onslaught in southern Syria could see tens of thousands of refugees heading for the Israel border. The IDF is gearing up to prevent a mass breach of the frontier, but also started to provide humanitarian aid to the displaced. With Russia's help, Assad's army has battered the south for more than a week with air strikes, rocket fire and crude barrel bombs, forcing more than 50,000 people to flee in search of safety. Many of them have fled toward the border with Israel, saying it was the safest since the regime wouldn't dare strike in that area to avoid confrontation with Israel. Most of the 50,000-plus people who already fled have headed to the sealed Jordanian border. Officials in Nawa issued a statement asking Jordan to take in refugees. But Amman has said the border will remain closed. The kingdom already hosts more than 650,000 registered refugees and estimates the actual number is more than a million. With Jordan closed, Jerusalem fears they could head to the Israeli border. While only several dozen refugees had set up tent camps near the Israeli frontier in the town of Quneitra as of Thursday, Israel was preparing for a range of scenarios, the sources said. One possible development feared by Israel was masses of refugees banding together to try and break through the border fence, Hadashot news reported. Security officials feared that in such a scenario, armed militants could also try to sneak among them into the country. "No refugee from Syria will enter Israel, but we will help where we can on the humanitarian level," a senior official was quoted as saying by Channel 10 news. In recent years, Israel has given extensive humanitarian support to civilians on the Syrian side of the border. Israel has provided food and medicine, and thousands of wounded have entered Israel for life-saving medical treatment. Photos: Refugees at southern Syria, and IDF humanitarian aid sent yesterday for the refugee camps on the Golan border

from Liveleak.com Rss Feed - Recent threads https://ift.tt/2yVTlS7
via IFTTT