Israel has evacuated approximately 800 volunteer White Helmet rescuers and their families from Syria and taken them to Jordan in a Saturday night convoy of buses accompanied by Israeli police and United Nations vehicles.

The Israeli Defense Force, identifying the rescue workers as civilians, said on Twitter: “The civilians were evacuated from the war zone in Southern Syria due to an immediate threat to their lives. The transfer of the displaced Syrians through Israel is an exceptional humanitarian gesture.”

IDF said the evacuation was done at the “request of the United States and additional European countries.”

Israel said the evacuees were taken to “a neighboring country,” but did not mention Jordan.

Petra, Jordan’s official news agency, said the Syrians are in a closed area in Jordan. The agency said Britain, Germany and Canada have agreed to resettle them within three months.

The Syrian military, backed by a Russian air campaign, has been pushing into the edges of Quneitra province following an offensive last month that routed rebels in adjoining Deraa province who were once backed by Washington, Jordan and Gulf states.

The offensive has restored Syrian government control over a swathe of the southwest, strategic territory at the borders with Jordan and Israel.

Reuters contributed to this report.
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