Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu discussed plans to evacuate the White Helmets from Syria prior to a rescue mission carried out overnight by the Israeli military.
A readout of a phone call between the two was released by the Prime Minister’s Office on Saturday.
READ MORE: Here’s what you need to know about Syria’s White Helmets and why Canada is resettling them
In it, the PMO said Trudeau – who is on a personal day in British Columbia – spoke about the situation playing out in the region and the need to act to evacuate the volunteer first responders, who were penned in by regime forces during an aerial bombardment that saw roughly 130 bombs dropped on some of the remaining areas under rebel control.
“Yesterday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke by phone with Benjamin Netanyahu, Prime Minister of Israel,” the readout states.
WATCH: The Israeli army on Sunday distributed footage showing an overnight operation to evacuate Syrian “White Helmets” through Israel to Jordan.
“They discussed the regional security situation and the evacuation of White Helmets from Syria. Prime Minister Trudeau and Prime Minister Netanyahu reinforced the benefits of the close cooperation between Canada and Israel.”
WATCH BELOW: Israeli army releases footage showing extraction of ‘White Helmets’ from Syria
Netanyahu also revealed on Sunday that Trudeau was one of the world leaders who personally asked for Israel to evacuate roughly 800 of the White Helmets over fears they would be targeted by regime forces.
The Israeli military carried out the overnight rescue, reportedly bringing the first responders over the Golan Heights and into Jordan.
They will now remain there for roughly three months before being resettled in Canada, the United Kingdom and Germany.
The Canadian government has not yet confirmed how many will be resettled in Canada, but CBC News has reported it could be 250.
With files from the Canadian Press.
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