Over 2,000 Ukrainian refugees have been brought to Israel with the assistance of United Hatzalah over the last few weeks.
In response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent ongoing war, United Hatzalah launched Operation Orange Wings, a rescue mission that has seen a series of specially chartered rescue flights bring Ukrainian refugees from Romania, Moldova and Austria to Israel.
Each flight has between 100-160 refugees onboard and is staffed by United Hatzalah medical personnel who accompany them as well as provide humanitarian aid and medical care, even mid-flight when necessary. United Hatzalah said that it hopes to expand the operation in the coming days in order to bring in refugees from additional locations.
"I am proud of what our volunteers and our organization have done," United Hatzalah founder and president Eli Beer said.
"Our teams will remain on the ground providing aid in Moldova and bringing refugees to Israel [from there] and the surrounding countries," he said. "The need for humanitarian assistance and medical care for the refugees is immense. We are doing our part in providing that assistance to hundreds of thousands of refugees who have made their way into Moldova."
At the start of Russia's war against Ukraine, a team of Israeli medical personnel landed in Moldova to assist Ukrainian refugees as they crossed the border to safety. The delegation was formed at the request of Moldova’s chief rabbi, Pinchas Salzman, and is working in coordination with the Foreign Ministry.