This handout video grab released by the Israeli Army on July 22, 2017, shows an evacuation operation of Syrian White Helmet rescuers and their families through Israel, in an unknown location, en route to Jordan after facing the threat of advancing Syrian regime forces in certain regions. PHOTO: AFP
DAMASCUS: The foreign ministry in Damascus condemned on Monday the evacuation of hundreds of trapped White Helmets rescue workers and their relatives from Syria's south through its arch-foe and neighbour, Israel.
More than 400 rescue workers and family members from Syria's southern provinces of Daraa and Quneitra were ferried into Israel on Sunday, then taken into Jordan for resettlement into Western countries.
This handout picture released by the Israeli Army on July 22, 2017, shows an Israeli soldier standing guard near a family member of the Syrian White Helmet rescuers at an unknown location. PHOTO: AFP"The criminal operation that Israel and its tools conducted in the area reveals the true nature of the so-called White Helmets," said a source at the foreign ministry, cited by state news agency SANA.
The source repeated the Syrian government's accusation that the rescue force is a front group for "terrorists" and said Damascus had warned the world of its "dangers".
Hundreds of Syrian 'White Helmets' evacuated by Israel to Jordan--reports
"Words of condemnation are not enough to express the indignation that every Syrian feels towards these despicable conspiracies and the limitless aid from Western countries, Israel, and Jordan to the White Helmets," the source said.
The White Helmets is a network of first responders which rescues the wounded in the aftermath of air strikes, shelling, or explosions in rebel territory across Syria.
This handout video grab from the Israeli army released on July 22, 2017, shows Israeli soldiers guiding members of families of Syrian White Helmet rescuers into a bus. PHOTO: AFPHundreds of them were stuck in a pocket of southern Syria, fearing advancing Syrian government forces.
Jordan's foreign ministry announced in a statement that the kingdom received 422 Syrian nationals for resettlement in Britain, Germany and Canada.
The group receives funding from a number of governments, including Britain, Germany, Canada and the United States, and from individual donors.
Other White Helmets members have stayed in the south.
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