Wherever Duty Is, We Will Be

On the afternoon of July 26, 2006, amidst the turmoil in Lebanon due to the Israeli war, and with Beirut under siege from relentless attacks, King Abdullah II made an important announcement during his speech at the "We Are All Jordan Forum."

Pausing abruptly, he glanced at his watch and declared to all present that the blockade on Lebanon had been broken. The moment marked the arrival of the first Royal Jordanian Air Force plane, carrying teams of engineering corps tasked with reopening Beirut Airport.

This initial endeavour was swiftly followed by three subsequent flights, delivering a field hospital and essential medical supplies to aid the victims of the Israeli war. This historic moment stands as a testament to Jordan's unwavering commitment to humanitarian relief efforts. Time and again, Jordan has been at the forefront during times of crisis, swiftly extending a helping hand to those in need, regardless of geographic boundaries.

Official and grassroots efforts in Jordan, with the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army taking a leading role, have exemplified a paradigm of delivering aid to those in distress, mitigating the impact of conflicts, tending to the wounds of war, and advocating for justice. Jordan's commitment to humanitarian relief has been manifested through the deployment of Jordanian field hospitals under the auspices of the Royal Medical Services.

During the first quarter of the current century, Jordan dispatched field hospitals and surgical units to 25 nations and disaster-stricken regions. These deployments included missions to countries such as Iraq, Libya, Eritrea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Burundi, Congo, Pakistan, Indonesia, Iran, the Maldives, Tajikistan, and various Palestinian cities. More than 58,000 Jordanian military personnel, comprising doctors, nurses, technicians, and administrators, participated in these humanitarian missions.

In 2003, Jordan opened its inaugural field hospital in Iraq, providing medical care to approximately half a million Iraqi citizens during its initial two years of operation. Recently, Jordan dispatched four field hospitals to conflict zones in Africa under the auspices of the United Nations. At the end of 2011, the Jordan Armed Forces-Arab Army established the Jordanian Field Hospital in Libya. In response to the challenging circumstances following the major explosion at the port of Beirut in 2020, the King issued directives for the dispatch of an integrated field hospital to address emergency needs and perform major and minor operations.

The Jordanian field hospital in Gaza made history as the first Arab hospital to arrive in the Strip, landing on January 26, 2009, three years after the imposition of the siege on Gaza. Under Royal directives, medical missions continued to be dispatched, totalling over 77. Amidst the escalating war in Gaza in 2023, Jordan set up a second field hospital in Khan Younis. His Royal Highness Crown Prince Al Hussein bin Abdullah II oversaw the deployment of this facility, alongside other hospitals dispatched to cities in the West Bank, to which the most recent addition was a field hospital in Nablus.

For its part, the Jordanian Hashemite Charity Organisation for Arab and Islamic Relief has played a significant role in extending aid and assistance to millions of individuals across numerous countries. The organisation exemplifies Jordan's commitment to humanitarian causes, reaching out to those in need regardless of their location or circumstances.