Israel, a country of only eight million people, has the second largest foreign volunteer force (behind India) in assisting Nepalese victims of Saturday’s 7.8 magnitude earthquake. An Israel Defense Forces (IDF) delegation of over 250 doctors and humanitarian workers touched down in Nepal’s capital, Kathmandu, on Tuesday to provide treatment for those injured by the deadly quake.
The IDF workers opened a temporary field hospital in Nepal on Wednesday to start treatment for the quake victims. Since then, nearly 300 patients have received treatment, which has included 15 life-saving surgeries, the Times of Israel reports. The field hospital consists of 60 beds and a separate obstetrics department, and its staff is in direct coordination with the Nepal army hospital, reports have stated. Three babies have been born at the field hospital as of Friday morning, Ynet News reports.
Israel continues to have ambitious plans to assist victims of the Nepal earthquake. Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman announced Thursday that his country has pledged to rebuild an entire village that was destroyed by the quake.
“After consulting with various departments in the Foreign Ministry, we decided to adopt a village in Nepal, to assist with its reconstruction and to do our utmost to help people who have really found themselves in a difficult situation,” Lieberman said.
Israel’s foreign ministry director-general, Nissim Ben-Sheetrit, elaborated on the plans: “We, the professional staff, will start to work after the dust has settled and it’ll be possible to talk with Nepali authorities about the location of the village and the matter of reconstruction,” said Ben-Sheetrit.
The deadly earthquake has killed so far an estimated 7,000 people and injured another 10,000 individuals.