British teenagers are working on army bases across Israel after being asked to help by the IDF.

The army approached the FZY youth movement, along with its American sister group Young Judea, to ask if participants on its year programme could volunteer. Teens from the religious Zionist movement, B’nei Akiva, also volunteered. Some IDF bases had been understaffed as soldiers were deployed to Gaza. The teenagers began working on eight bases across Israel on Sunday, packing kits for soldiers in Gaza, checking equipment for faults and monitoring stocks.

Gemma Geffin from London, 19, said: “We are spending our days packing the kits for the soldiers who are going into Gaza. Before we came I didn’t realise how much our presence here is directly helping the country.”

Sofia Lever, 19, from London, described it as “amazing”.