A dramatic rescue operation took place in recent weeks in the heart of Ukraine when two orphaned girls were rescued from the occupied Kherson region to Kishinev in Moldova, from where they will be flown to Israel by ZAKA volunteers. The story began three weeks ago when the ZAKA organization working in Ukraine received a request from the girls’ uncle to bring them to safety. It turned out that the girls were born in Petach Tikvah and have Israeli citizenship but moved with their parents to a town in the Kherson region eight years ago. About six months ago, shortly before the Russian invasion, their mother passed away after an extended illness. Sadly, a few months later, their father came down with pneumonia and passed away as well, leaving the girls alone in the war-torn country. During the preparation for the rescue operation, a complex legal issue arose regarding the girls’ status as minors that threatened to sabotage their exit from the country. Chaim Otmezgin, the head of ZAKA’s special units, worked tirelessly to solve the problem and succeeded in obtaining legal approval for guardianship with the assistance of Israeli Consul-General Lilach Atias. The rescue operation stretched out over a long day, when over a 12-hour period, the girls passed through over 50 police checkpoints in Ukraine. Mrs. Dickstein, a ZAKA volunteer who accompanied the girls, said: “There are no words to describe the moving moment when we crossed the Ukrainian border with the girls, after many days of effort in actual combat zones. The girls shared with us the immense fear they’ve lived in since the outbreak of the war, as bombs fell on them daily.” “After many efforts, in ways that are better left unsaid, and with the assistance of ba’al ha’chessed HaRav Yitzchak Halfon, we rescued the girls from occupied Kherson to Kishinev,” said Nachman Dickstein, Deputy Commander of ZAKA Ukraine and director of the ZAKA center in Kishinev. “I thank Consul-General in Kyiv Lilach Atias who did everything she could for us – willingly and with a smile.” (YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)

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