An emergency United Hatzalah delegation to the Moldova-Ukraine border leaving Israel on Feb. 26, 2022. Photo: United Hatzalah.

Israel announced Sunday that it is sending 100 tons of humanitarian aid to Ukraine to help civilians trapped in combat zones and those trying to flee the country amid an intensifying Russian invasion.

The assistance is expected to arrive over the next two days, and includes “water purification kits, medical equipment as well as drugs, tents, blankets, sleeping bags and additional equipment for civilians who are not in their homes in the cold winter weather,” Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett said Sunday.

He expressed hope that the fighting will cease before the humanitarian toll “will be much worse than we can even imagine,” and commended the Foreign Ministry for its efforts to assist Israeli citizens fleeing the conflict. Some 2,000 Israelis are believed to have left Ukraine since the outbreak of hostilities.

Due to congestion at border crossings between Ukraine and Poland, the ministry has urged Israeli citizens in Ukraine to try alternative crossings to Hungary, Romania, Slovakia, and Moldova. Israeli embassy officials have been concurrently ordered to cross the border from Poland to help citizens leave Ukraine. They assisted 60 Israelis in crossing via the Medyka Polish border overnight, among them women, children, and students.

“Over recent weeks, we have prepared well for these moments,” Bennett said. “The Foreign Ministry, the Jewish Agency, and others are functioning very well. Also in regard to food stocks and possible economic consequences for the State of Israel, we are prepared.”

Bennett announced that later on Sunday, the Cabinet will discuss the ramifications of the situation for Israel, including diplomatic and economic aspects, and the absorption of immigrants.

Israeli nonprofits have similarly rallied to provide humanitarian relief. United Hatzalah, an Israeli medical first response charity, sent a delegation on Saturday night to provide medical, psychological, and humanitarian aid to refugees at the Ukrainian border with Moldova. The team consists of 12 emergency medical technicians, paramedics, doctors, a dentist, and members of the Psychotrauma and Crisis Response Unit. They will be joined in Moldova by additional personnel from Miami, Florida.

The delegation brought equipment to allow experts from Sheba Medical Center in Tel Aviv to offer remote medical treatments to refugees, including physical examinations, cardiac monitoring, ultrasounds, and blood testing. An additional United Hatzalah team of 30 medical personnel is expected to arrive in the coming days.

IsraAID, a humanitarian aid agency, also said over the weekend that it will send an emergency team to Moldova at the start of the week to provide urgent relief, protection, and mental health support to the rapidly growing numbers of Ukrainian refugees crossing the border.

“We are deeply concerned by the devastating humanitarian situation that is unfolding in Ukraine,” IsraAID’s CEO Yotam Polizer said. “For many years now, we have worked with refugees in Europe and around the world, and our focus will be on ensuring the most vulnerable Ukrainians seeking safety have access to urgent supplies and support.”

More than 15,800 Ukrainians have crossed into Moldova as of Friday, according to the Moldovan government. “Moldova, alongside other Ukrainian border countries, has relaxed or removed restrictions on entry from Ukraine, including the need to carry a passport or present a COVID-19 vaccination certificate,” IsraAID said.

The aid group may deploy teams to other Ukrainian border countries as the conflict unfolds.