Israeli Search and Rescue Team Arrives in Turkey With Second On Way

Jerusalem, 7 February, 2023 (TPS) -- An Israeli search and rescue team arrived in Turkey on Monday night as Turks continued digging through rubble for survivors. A second larger humanitarian aid delegation departed on Tuesday morning.

An earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale struck southern Turkey and Syria on Monday morning. More than 140 aftershocks have been recorded. The death toll from Turkey and Syria stands at 5,000 and continues climbing.

Many of the stricken villages are in remote areas of Turkey and Syria with little communication and the World Health Organization said the death toll may reach 20,000.

During the night, Israeli Foreign Ministry personnel worked in coordination with Turkish authorities as the Israeli search and rescue team arrived in Turkey’s southern city of Adana. The search and rescue team is expected to work in Adana and in the southwest city of Gaziantep, near the Syrian border.

The Foreign Ministry added that it is considering sending a planeload of medicine and other humanitarian items.

Meanwhile, Defense Minister Yoav Gallant authorized the Israeli military to set up an emergency field hospital in coordination with Turkish authorities. The field hospital was recognized by the World Health Organization as the world’s best in 2016 and was most recently deployed in western Ukraine after treating 6,000 patients during a six-week period.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu confirmed on Monday that Israel would also provide assistance to Syria after receiving a request conveyed through a third-party.

Netanyahu did not specify who passed long the request, but Hebrew media reports said it was Russia. The Hebrew reports said Israel would provide medication, blankets and tents.

In 2016, Israel opened its field hospital in the Golan Heights to provide medical aid, fuel and other humanitarian aid for civilians caught up in the Syrian Civil War. The field hospital was closed after Bashar Assad’s regime re-established control of southern Syria in Sept. 2018.