Israel’s Ambassador to Vietnam Nadav Eshkar handed over on Friday medical equipment to the Vietnamese Foreign Ministry on behalf of the State of Israel to deal with the severe Coronavirus (COVID-19) wave that is sweeping the country.

The equipment was handed over to the Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister, Mr. Pam Kuang Hsiao in a ceremony attended by representatives of the Vietnamese Ministry of Health.

The equipment, which includes 10 respirators, is intended for a new field hospital opened in the city of Hanoi for the treatment of Corona patients.

In the coming days, Vietnamese will also be given about 10,000 medical masks, 20 oxygen generators, and antiviral plastic sheets to cover surfaces.

For many months Vietnam has managed to block the entry of the virus into its territory very effectively, but since May the country has been contending with a massive wave of infections.

Hsiao thanked Israel for the assistance and noted that it “reflects the growing friendship between Israel and Vietnam.”

Eshkar expressed hope that in a joint effort, Israel, Vietnam, and the rest of the world will “succeed in curbing the pandemic and leaving this crisis behind.”

Foreign Minister Yair Lapid departed Wednesday evening for a brief diplomatic visit to Moscow and will hold a working meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov.

He will also lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, meet with the staff of the Israeli Embassy in Moscow, and return to Israel on Thursday.

The Foreign Ministry did not state what the focus of the visit is.

Jerusalem and Moscow maintain an open line on the Syrian issue and ensure that Israeli operations in the country do not clash with Russian interests. This may be the reason for the meeting.

The Jewish population worldwide stands at 15.2 million Jews and grew by 100,000 in the past year, according to the Jewish Agency’s report published ahead of Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year.

Israel has the largest Jewish population with 6.93 million Jews, accounting for 45.3% of world Jewry.

The largest Jewish population outside Israel is in the US, with around 6 million Jews, followed by France with 446,000, Canada with 393,500, Britain with 292,000, Argentina with 175,000, Russia with 150,000, Germany with 118,000, and Australia with 118,000 Jews.

A total of 8.2 million Jews live outside Israel.

At the end of 2020, eight decades after the Holocaust, the world’s Jewish population has yet to recover from the Holocaust’s devastation. In 1939, on the eve of World War II, the world Jewish population was 16.6 million, of whom 449,000, only 3%, lived in Israel.

A very small number of 27,000 Jews live in Muslim countries, including 14,500 in Turkey, 9,500 in Iran, 2,000 in Morocco and 1,000 in Tunisia.

Jews in this report were defined as those who self-identified as Jewish and not as any other religion.

The Jewish Agency noted that if you count the Jewish population according to those eligible to receive Israeli citizenship under Israel’s Law of Return, which requires at least one Jewish grandparent, there are 25.3 million Jews worldwide.

Several hundred Gazans rioted on the border with Israel on Wednesday night, for the fifth night in a row.

The so-called harassment units rioted, set off explosive charges, burned tires, and made noise through loudspeakers, disturbing Israeli communities in the area.

The IDF responded with crowd dispersal means, tear gas, and accurate fire to key rioters.

Hamas has declared it will step up its attacks on Israel in an attempt to “remove the siege” on Gaza and pressure it into agreeing to various concessions it is demanding from Israel.

In the meantime, Arabs sources reported that for the first time since Operation Protective Edge in 2014, Israel will allow the entry of building materials into the Gaza Strip without the United Nations oversight mechanism, which was agreed upon as a condition for rehabilitating the Gaza Strip after the operation and meant to ensure that Hamas does not use the materials for terrorism.

The UN mechanism measured quantities of materials according to construction plans submitted in advance. The building materials were transported to a storage site that was monitored by the UN and were distributed to holders of a special permit.

The reports say that Defense Minister Benny Gantz approved the unmonitored entry of building materials into Gaza following an Egyptian request.

Hamas has previously been found to steal building materials to build its terror tunnels and military fortifications.

The Border Police unveiled on Tuesday a new national undercover unit, christened “Sinai,” which will combat crime in the Arab-Israeli sector.

The Border Police held a ceremony to launch the new undercover unit whose main purpose is activity against crime gangs throughout the country, dealing with riots with advanced capabilities, and fighting terrorism.

In March 2021, Commissioner of Police Yaakov Shabtai decided to establish another undercover unit that will operate against serious crime and terrorism among Arabs with Israeli citizenship.

The Special Forces troops underwent unique training to provide them with tools to deal with the great challenges they will face on the ground.

Shabtai stated that the new unit will “bring to the battle the highest operational capabilities the police have to offer. Unique technology and weapons alongside creativity, operational flight, and quality manpower that will be directed to what I have defined as a mission of national importance.”

“We will restore security to the Arab localities. It is a process that the police will lead on all levels including aggressive economic enforcement activities that will make it clear to criminals that the harm will also be severe to their pocket. Together we will succeed,” he declared.

Arab-Israeli society is plagued with daily incidents of violence. Over 110 Arabs were killed in criminal violence in 2020, and 82 have been murdered so far in 2021.

The police increased its activity against the plague of shootings and weapons offenses in recent years, and in 2020 arrested 5,713 suspects in shootings and other weapons crimes throughout the country, an increase of 22% compared to 2019.

The vast majority of police activity was carried out in the Arab sector, and about 90% of the suspects arrested for shooting and weapons offenses were Arab Israelis.