Background
Since the outbreak of the Syrian civil war in 2011, far from the public eye, Israeli Flying Aid (IFA) has provided life-saving humanitarian aid via three different borders to the victims of Assad regime’s atrocities. All aid was tailored to the needs of the affected communities with little or no access to medical care, food or basic protection.
As an Israeli humanitarian organization, founded in the shadow of the Holocaust, IFA is guided by a moral imperative to protect innocent lives and strives to be the voice of the voiceless, regardless of borders, religion, or politics.
“Better a close neighbor than a remote brother.”
Our Work on the Ground
Throughout 2011-2018, IFA operated inside Syria via Jordan, Turkey and later the Golan Heights, delivering large-scale humanitarian aid to besieged and high-risk areas.
Key areas of support included:
- Emergency medical aid and rehabilitation of bombed hospitals and clinics
- Delivery of food, hygiene kits, baby formula, medications and essential IDP supplies
- Training of first responders, support for search-and-rescue and firefighting teams
- Medical care for women and children
IFA was among the first NGOs to deliver aid inside Syria and remained active even when access routes closed and risks escalated.
Phase I: Southern Syria via Jordan (2011–2013)
When protests erupted in Daraa in March 2011 and violent repression followed, IFA became one of the first organizations to deliver emergency humanitarian aid inside Syria. Operating through Jordan’s Mafraq District, aid reached southern Syria at a time when almost no international access was possible.
Key interventions included:
- Delivery of food, hygiene kits, and vital IDP supplies
- Emergency medical aid and medications
- Medical deployments treating hundreds of casualties
- Life-saving surgeries for critically wounded patients transferred to Israel
- Safe relocation of children and women – families of Syrian medical personnel persecuted by the Assad regime – to protected areas.
This early phase focused on rapid response and survival, laying the groundwork for long-term trust with local medical networks.
Phase II: Northern Syria via Turkey (2013-2016)
After exposure of humanitarian routes through Jordan, IFA relocated its operations to southern Turkey, operating from Gaziantep into northern Syria, including Idlib, Aleppo, Azaz, Afrin, and surrounding areas.
Key interventions included:
- Large-scale food deliveries to besieged communities
- Sanitation, shelter materials, and water distribution support
- Distribution of gas masks and filters due to the regime’s use of chemical weapons
- Emergency field surgery tents, medical equipment and medications
- In 2012-2013, IFA trained over 300 Syrian firefighting and search-and-rescue volunteers (later known as the “White Helmets”)
- Training of Syrian orthopedists – 3D printers & materials were donated to produce prosthetic upper limbs due to the massive number of traumatic amputations
- Extraction and safe resettlement in Israel of the last Jewish family from Aleppo
- Initiation of an Israeli Syrian dialogue in Europe, which included former Israeli generals, Israeli members of Knesset, Syrian opposition leaders, and prominent Syrian and Israeli businessmen.
During this phase, IFA expanded both the scale and scope of its operations.
Phase III: Southern Syria via the Golan Heights (2016–2018)
In 2016, the IDF launched the “Good Neighbor” humanitarian initiative. Under full confidentiality, IFA was asked to redirect its efforts to support Syrian civilians along the Golan Heights.
The first pilot of direct aid from Israel into Syria through the Golan Heights was the result of the “Human Warmth” campaign, led by Israeli youth movements, collecting tens of tons of winter supplies for Syrian children, marking the first large-scale civilian aid effort from Israel into Syria.
One of the most significant outcomes of this phase was the establishment of a women’s maternity ward in southern Syria, near the Israeli border.
The maternity ward provided:
- Safe childbirth in an area where hospitals were frequently targeted
- Prenatal and postnatal care
- Surgical services, including C-sections
- Specialized treatment for survivors of sexual violence
At full capacity, the hospital treated over 500 women per month, offering dignified care in an active war zone. Its proximity to the Israeli border significantly reduced the risk of airstrikes, making it one of the safest maternity facilities in the region at the time.
Humanitarian Impact
IFA contributed more than $10 million worth of equipment and supplies to Syrian civilians through the “Good Neighbor” initiative.
Through trusted partnerships with hospitals and medical centers inside Syria, IFA delivered:
- Over 1 million meals to besieged populations
- Medical equipment and medications
- Infant nutrition, hygiene supplies, and winter aid
- Mobility aids, orthopedic equipment, and first-aid kits
- Educational supplies for displaced children
In 2017, IFA’s “Just Beyond Our Border” crowdfunding campaign mobilized thousands of Israeli donors, raising over $550,000 in three weeks to support Syrian civilians.
This phase concluded in 2018, when the Assad regime regained control of the area and the Good Neighbor initiative ended.
Phase IV: Continued Commitment (2018-Present)
Despite restricted access, IFA has continued to support vulnerable populations in Syria – particularly minority communities –operating with discretion in an increasingly volatile environment. Aid has included food, baby formula, medications, medical equipment, mobility aids, and more.
Following the devastating February 2023 earthquake in southern Turkey and north-west Syria, IFA rapidly delivered search-and-rescue equipment to local Syrian teams, drawing on long-standing field relationships.
Due to security considerations and the safety of IFA’s volunteers and counterparts, some of IFA’s ongoing activities cannot be publicly disclosed.