Israel deploying field hospital in Ukraine, humanitarian operations expand
An Israeli medical delegation will leave for Ukraine this week to establish a field hospital “in an effort to strengthen humanitarian aid to the Ukrainian people,” the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Health announced over the weekend.
Israeli citizens and Ukrainian refugees arrived from Ukraine to Ben Gurion international airport. Lod, Mar 3, 2022. Photo by Shalev Shalom/TPS
The field hospital will be operated through the Sheba Medical Centre in Tel Aviv, Clalit Health Services, and medical staff from additional hospitals.
The hospital, staffed by some 50 members, will operate hospitalization departments for children and adults, an emergency room, a delivery room and a primary care clinic. The hospital will also make use of advanced technologies of remote medicine.
Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz stated that Israel is “performing its moral duty, increasing humanitarian aid and extending assistance to the Ukrainian people.”
“We will continue to help as much as necessary to save the lives of citizens whose worlds were destroyed in one moment,” he stated.
Director of Sheba Medical Centre Professor Yitzhak Kreis stated that “this is our personal, professional and national duty towards every person, no matter who he is. We have the means and the ability and we must not stand back.”
The Schneider Children’s hospital will send a team of 10 members to run the children’s ward. The hospital is also preparing to receive children patients from Kyiv. A special evacuation flight to Israel is planned for the coming days and will be accompanied by medical staff from the hospital.
Israel dispatched 100 tons of aid on three planes with medical equipment and medicines last week. On Friday, a ceremony was held marking the transfer of Israeli humanitarian aid to Ukraine at a facility belonging to the Polish Emergency Authority.
Eynat Shlein, Head of MASHAV, Israel’s Agency for International Development Cooperation which coordinated the transfer of the aid, said at the ceremony that she is “proud to be an Israeli citizen and to be leading Israel’s assistance to the Ukrainian people at this difficult time. The State of Israel is on the frontline of providing humanitarian aid, and is committed to acting quickly when needed.”
In the meantime, Israeli aid organizations operating on Ukraine’s borders to assist the droves of refugees are expanding their operations.
The Jewish Agency has raised more than $15 million over the past week to support humanitarian and rescue operations along the Ukrainian border, with over $10 million coming from its partners at the Jewish Federations of North America (JFNA) and Keren Hayesod. The needs of the rescue operation stand at over $21 million and are expected to grow as the situation evolves.
Over 700 Jews have so far arrived at Aliyah processing centres run by The Jewish Agency and the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ) in Poland, Moldova, Romania, and Hungary.
The Olim (immigrants to Israel) are escorted from the border to temporary housing facilities where they receive their visas to Israel. They will be flown to Israel, where they will stay in hotels across the country for about a month, and then will be transferred to their permanent residences, located in communities throughout Israel.
The first three flights carrying a total of 300 Olim, including 100 orphans, will arrive in Israel on Sunday.
3,380 beds were rented in hotels and other facilities in countries neighbouring Ukraine to accommodate the thousands of Jews seeking to make Aliyah. Meanwhile, The Jewish Agency is also involved in working alongside local organizations to find additional lodging for these refugees.
Some 10,000 calls were received at the special hotline, 5,000 of which were from Jews seeking to make Aliyah. Other calls came from concerned relatives in Israel, seeking guidance on how they could help their relatives in Ukraine.
150 community organizations across Ukraine identified by The Jewish Agency’s Security Assistance Fund will receive immediate assistance for protection. This budget will be used to implement security measures at Jewish organizations and institutions across the country.
Since the outbreak of the war, the State of Israel has received over 1,555 Ukrainian citizens, and about 150 of them are eligible for citizenship and will begin the naturalization process.
Israel is preparing for the immediate absorption and granting of citizenship to over 100,000 Ukrainians who are fleeing the war.
Similarly, in a joint operation by United Hatzalah of Israel and the ZAKA organization, a Jewish family whose members were seriously injured after a Russian airstrike hit their apartment complex were evacuated out of the country.
ZAKA’s emergency team arranged transport from the site of the bombing to the free zone between the Ukrainian and Moldovan border where the family was handed over to United Hatzalah of Israel who arranged two ambulances for their transport. United Hatzalah personnel worked with the border officials together with officials from the Israeli Foreign Ministry who helped speed the process of crossing the border.
The family was subsequently airlifted to a specialized trauma facility in the US.
Dr. Neuwirth added that United Hatzalah, with its 50 member team, is now in full operation in Moldova and standing by to receive, treat, transfer, and airlift, refugees and people seeking medical aid as necessary in the region.
“We are treating and assisting all refugees regardless of race or religion,” he said.
