Between October 14 and 16, 2024, northwest Syria faced an intense escalation as Russian forces launched multiple daily airstrikes using fixed-wing aircraft and high-explosive missiles.
These assaults were synchronized with ground offensives by Syrian regime forces employing artillery and explosive-laden drones. According to the Syrian Network for Human Rights, the attacks resulted in 13 civilian fatalities, including 5 children, and injured around 42 others, many with severe injuries. The strikes inflicted extensive destruction on homes and civilian infrastructure.
Since the start of 2024, the Syrian regime has persisted in indiscriminate attacks, frequently using explosive-laden drones, while Russian strikes have tended to be sporadic but sudden. From January 1 to October 21, the Syrian Network for Human Rights recorded 54 civilian deaths, including 19 children and 7 women, due to Syrian-Russian coalition attacks in northwest Syria.
Amid this relentless violence, the White Helmets stand out for their efforts in northern Syria, tirelessly supporting communities devastated by ongoing conflict. Since 2013, they have spearheaded civil defence efforts in opposition-controlled areas in the north, following the Syrian regime’s declaration of war on its own people—a conflict that has so far claimed nearly half a million lives and displaced more than half of Syria’s population.
Since 2014, the group has been widely recognized as the "White Helmets," named after the helmets their volunteers wear during rescue missions. They first gained international attention through powerful images showing them pulling people from rubble or rushing injured children to medical facilities amid intense attacks in opposition-held areas.
Today, the White Helmets comprise around 3,300 volunteers, primarily men but including women who actively participate in rescue efforts. Tragically, the organization has lost 300 volunteers, four of whom died during the recent earthquake, as confirmed by Mohammed Al-Shibli, a spokesperson for the group, to Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The White Helmets operate under the guiding motto, “To save one life is to save all of humanity,” inspired by a verse from the Quran (Al-Ma’idah, 32). The group stresses that its volunteers risk their lives "to help anyone in need, regardless of religious or political affiliation." Raed Saleh, the group’s leader, has previously underscored their commitment to neutrality, stating, “We are independent, neutral, and impartial; we are not affiliated with any political group or armed faction.”
In February 2023, the White Helmets faced one of their greatest challenges when a 7.7-magnitude earthquake struck southeastern Turkey and northern Syria, followed by multiple aftershocks. The quake killed thousands and injured many more. In northwest Syria, the death toll exceeded 2,000, with nearly 3,000 wounded. The White Helmets’ teams, grappling with overwhelming conditions, saved many lives in the critical early days, while recovering the bodies of those buried in collapsed buildings.
After the earthquake, the White Helmets deployed their volunteers to northern Syria, especially near the Turkish border. With limited equipment and local residents’ support, they worked tirelessly, often using basic tools. The region, heavily dependent on aid, lacked the resources for a rapid response, delaying search-and-rescue efforts. Initial reports indicated that over 400 buildings were completely destroyed, with more than 1,300 partially damaged. In opposition-held areas alone, the earthquake claimed over 4,500 lives out of more than 6,000 fatalities in Syria.
Videos circulated showing hundreds of civil defense volunteers in Idlib and Aleppo digging through rubble to find survivors, treating the injured, and transporting the deceased from hospitals to burial sites.
The White Helmets have faced disasters before, including chemical attacks on Eastern Ghouta by the Syrian regime. Besides conducting rescue operations, the group has played a crucial role in documenting these attacks, contributing to efforts to hold the regime accountable in international forums for its chemical weapon use against Syrian civilians. This activism has drawn fierce opposition from Russia, Assad’s staunchest ally.
Russia recently prevented the White Helmets from attending the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) conference in The Hague. Russian diplomats led a public relations effort to bar Syrian NGOs from such global gatherings, blocking independent NGO reports that the OPCW often relies upon. Russia's actions were supported by China, Iran, and other allied states, all opposing the White Helmets’ request to attend the November conference. In response, countries like Canada and the United Kingdom condemned Russia's actions, though they stopped short of further escalating tensions with Russia and China. Fifty countries, including most of the European Union, Ecuador, Honduras, Chile, Colombia, and Costa Rica, supported this condemnation.
In an official statement to Al-Quds Al-Arabi, the White Helmets expressed gratitude to 52 OPCW member states, led by Canada. “The murderers and their supporters are mistaken if they think barring the White Helmets from attending the OPCW conference will silence the truth,” the statement read.
The statement further asserted that this exclusion was intended to undermine the White Helmets’ role in supporting OPCW efforts in Syria by presenting evidence of chemical attacks. The organization claimed it had responded to "over 50 chemical attacks across Syria, provided first aid to victims, and documented these attacks with more than 100 samples as evidence." Numerous volunteers have testified as both first responders and victims, with their evidence referenced in various OPCW reports.
The White Helmets condemned their exclusion and that of other NGOs from the OPCW Member States Conference as “a purely political maneuver with no legal or professional basis” that “fundamentally contradicts the values and mission of the OPCW.” They noted that the OPCW was created to provide a platform for civil efforts against the spread of chemical weapons, honor victims, and promote justice and accountability.
The Syrian Civil Defence, or White Helmets, primarily operates in opposition-held territories. Initially, their activities were based in Daraa, rural Homs, and Eastern Ghouta, east of Damascus. Their main mission includes providing first aid to bombing victims and transporting the injured to field hospitals. They also document human rights violations and recent “early recovery” projects aimed at post-crisis rehabilitation.
The White Helmets have witnessed numerous chemical attacks, including those on Eastern Ghouta in 2013 and 2018, the 2017 sarin attack in Khan Shaykhun, and various other bombings across Syria using both conventional and chemical weapons. Most of these rescue responses have been captured by helmet-mounted cameras, providing the organization with extensive documentation of alleged war crimes by the Syrian regime and Russia.
Despite their ongoing efforts, the White Helmets have faced relentless criticism from the Syrian regime and its allies, who accuse them of serving as a “tool” for international donors and opposition-supporting governments. Assad has frequently labeled the group as affiliated with Al-Qaeda, while Russian officials have propagated a disinformation campaign against them, a tactic they have exported in their narrative on the war in Ukraine.
Russia’s “media war” against the White Helmets has been relentless. In late April 2022, two months after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia’s Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, made headlines by warning of “Western-sponsored provocations” by Kyiv involving weapons of mass destruction, particularly chemical ones. “The Kyiv regime is planning a similar scenario for Ukraine,” he claimed, adding that “the White Helmets have arrived in Ukraine.”
In March, Russian General Igor Kirillov, head of the Russian Armed Forces’ radiation, chemical, and biological defense unit, stated that “information warfare tactics, such as Kyiv’s ‘dirty bomb’ provocation, were already deployed in Syria with the White Helmets’ participation.” Such statements are frequently echoed when Russia conducts airstrikes in Syria, with Moscow often preemptively accusing the White Helmets of planning “chemical provocations” in the northwest.
Russia’s media war against the White Helmets intensified notably as the group’s role evolved into a formal organization in late 2014. As Moscow’s military intervention began in Syria in September 2015, Russian attacks on the White Helmets became more strategic.
Russian accusations fall into three main types. The first, rhythmic propaganda, involves repetitive, detached misinformation, relying on the power of constant lies. This approach mirrors Joseph Goebbels’ infamous propaganda methods: “Repeat a lie often enough and it becomes the truth.”
The second type of disinformation emerges around specific events, such as international investigations or UN sessions on Syria. These accusations attempt to divert attention from Assad's atrocities or discredit related media coverage.
The third and most dangerous form of disinformation directly endangers Syrian lives. Prior to launching civilian attacks, Russia often preempts accusations by claiming that other groups are planning such attacks. Years of tarnishing the White Helmets’ image have aimed to prevent international bodies from acknowledging their documentation.
In 2016, the White Helmets were nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and received the Right Livelihood Award, honoring their “exceptional courage, compassion, and humanitarian commitment to saving civilians from war’s devastation.” In 2017, a Netflix documentary on their work won an Academy Award.
The White Helmets remain a source of pride for Syrians, embodying the most honorable values of the Syrian revolution. Many view them as a model for future institution-building in a post-Assad Syria, with their transparent organizational structure, defined objectives, accountability measures, and strong ethical code. Highly regarded by the Syrian people, the group has become a powerful symbol of resilience against the brutality of the Assad regime, its allies, and global indifference. While Assad continues to dispense death, the White Helmets risk their own lives to bring aid and hope to those in need, truly living up to their motto: "To save one life is to save all of humanity."
