The Israeli military says it has rescued members of a Syrian volunteer civil organisation from the volatile border area on the Golan Heights and evacuated them to a third country.

Key points: Jordan confirmed that 800 Syrian citizens entered their territory

Jordan confirmed that 800 Syrian citizens entered their territory They said they will remain in Jordan for three months before being resettled in Britain, Germany and Canada

They said they will remain in Jordan for three months before being resettled in Britain, Germany and Canada The White Helmets were likely to be targeted by Syrian forces as they retook control of the region

The announcement marked the first such Israeli intervention in Syria's civil war, now in its eight year.

The military said it was an "exceptional humanitarian gesture" that was done at the request of the United States and its European allies due to "an immediate threat to [Syrians'] lives".

Israeli media reported that some 800 members of the Syrian rescue organisation known as White Helmets and their families were evacuated overnight.

The 'White Helmets' are often the first on the scene after a bombing. ( Reuters: Sultan Kitaz )

A Jordanian government source said 422 people were brought from Syria, over the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights frontier and into Jordan, down from a figure of 800 announced earlier by the foreign ministry in Amman.

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The evacuees would be kept in a "closed" location in Jordan and resettled in Britain, Germany and Canada within three months, the source added.

A second, non-Jordanian source familiar with the agreement said the original plan had been to evacuate 800 people, but only 422 made it out as operations were hampered by government checkpoints and the expansion of Islamic State in the area.

'Lives of those who have saved lives were in danger'

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said in a brief video statement that he had acted on the request of US President Donald Trump and other leaders.

"A few days ago, President Trump spoke to me, as did Canadian Prime Minister (Justin) Trudeau and others, asking that we help to extract the White Helmets from Syria," Mr Netanyahu said.

"The lives of these people, who have saved lives, were now in danger. I therefore authorised their transfer via Israel to other countries as an important humanitarian gesture."

The Syrian Civil Defence group has been widely hailed in the West and credited with saving thousands of lives by operating emergency rescue services in rebel-held areas during years of bombing attacks by Damascus and its allies.

The group says it is politically neutral but Syrian President Bashar al-Assad and his backers have said they see the White Helmets as Western-sponsored propaganda tools and proxies of Islamist-led insurgents.

Jordanian ministry spokesman Mohammed al-Kayed said the Syrians would remain in Jordan for three months.

"The request was approved based on pure humanitarian reasons," he said.

No change in Israeli policy

The evacuation is the first such Israeli intervention in Syria's lengthy civil war. ( AP: Syrian Civil Defense White Helmets )

The Israeli military said its actions did not reflect a change to Israel's non-intervention policy in Syria's war, where all the warring parties are considered hostile.

US officials had said they were finalising plans to evacuate several hundred Syrian civil defence workers and their families from southwest Syria as Russian-backed government forces closed in on the Quneitra province.

The officials said the White Helmets, who have enjoyed backing from the United States and other Western nations for years, were likely to be targeted by Syrian forces as they retook control of the southwest.

Evacuation plans were accelerated after last week's NATO summit in Brussels.

Since the Syrian Government offensive began in June, the area along the frontier with the Golan Heights has been the safest in the southwestern region, attracting hundreds of displaced people because it is along the disengagement line with Israel demarcated in 1974 after a war.

The Syrian Government is unlikely to fire there or carry out airstrikes for fear of an Israeli response.

The White Helmets typically have operated in opposition-held areas across Syria, places where government services are almost non-existent, voluntarily risking their lives to save hundreds of civilian lives during relentless government airstrikes and bombardments.

Over the last month, Syrian Government forces aided by Russian air power have swept through southwestern Syria to consolidate government control over this strategic corner of the country that straddles the border with Jordan and the frontier with Israeli-occupied Golan Heights.

With its new advances, government forces are, for the first time since the civil war began in 2011, retaking this territory from the rebels and restoring their positions along the disengagement line on the frontier with Israel that's part of a cease-fire agreement reached in 1974 between the two countries formally still at war.

Sorry, this video has expired The Syrian civilians approach Israel's Golan Heights border fence in an unprecedented move (Photo: Reuters/Ronen Zvulun)

AP