Dr Mike Evans

Israel sends 10 tons of aid to Turkey following earthquake By Dr Mike Evans

United Hatzalah of Israel sent 25 first responders and 10 tons of humanitarian aid to Turkey following a massive earthquake that has led to more than 4,000 deaths and thousands of additional injuries.

The chartered flight coordinated with the Israeli Foreign Ministry and the Israeli embassy in Turkey seeks to provide assistance as quickly as possible to save lives following the unprecedented disaster.

“As soon as we heard about the scale of the tragedy unfolding in Turkey, it was clear to us that we would send a team there in order to contribute to the relief effort,” said Vice President of Operations for United Hatzalah Dov Maisel, according to Israel National News.

“The amount of damage wrought by the earthquakes is enormous. We are bringing all of our knowledge and manpower from previous experiences responding to disasters to assist in the rescue efforts currently taking place in Turkey,” he added.

The group will land at the Gaziantep International Airport and travel to the hardest-hit areas of Turkey by land.

“Immediately after arriving in the region, the team will establish a special command center, and field clinics, and will begin providing medical assistance and rescuing those trapped under the rubble in coordination with local rescue services and Israel’s IDF Home Front Command operation that is already underway,” Maisel added. “In addition to the personnel, we also sent ten tons of medical equipment and humanitarian aid equipment that will be delivered to the hardest-hit areas by a special logistics task force in order to assist other medical and rescue teams on the ground.”

In addition to aid to Turkey, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu directed National Security Adviser and Director of the National Security (NSC) Council Tzachi Hanegbi to hold an assessment of the readiness of the State of Israel for earthquakes.

NSC Director Hanegbi will convene the discussion at the earliest opportunity with the participation of all government ministries, according to a press release from the prime minister’s office on Monday.