IN PHOTOS: IDF brings home Israeli victims of Istanbul bombing
A special delegation of IDF chaplains and Magen David Adom paramedics wheeled Israeli victims onto an IAF transport plane in Istanbul.
By YAAKOV LAPPINUpdated: MARCH 20, 2016 14:36IDF chaplains accompany the body of an Israeli victim of the Istanbul suicide bombing(photo credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)
The IDF and Magen David Adom evacuated on Sunday several Israeli tourists wounded in the previous day's suicide bomb attack in Istanbul, as well as the bodies of three Israeli fatalities.
IDF chaplains accompany the body of an Israeli victim of the Istanbul suicide bombing (photo credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)The coffins of three Israelis killed in the Istanbul suicide bombing are loaded onto an IAF transport plane (photo credit: FOREIGN MINISTRY)A man places carnations and a candle at the scene of a suicide bombing at Istiklal street, a major shopping and tourist district, in central Istanbul (photo credit: REUTERS)Pedestrians walk along Istiklal Street, a major shopping and tourist district, in central Istanbul (photo credit: REUTERS)A man is helped by emergency services following a suicide bombing in a major shopping and tourist district in central Istanbul (photo credit: REUTERS)A police officer secures the area following a suicide bombing in a major shopping and tourist district in central Istanbul (photo credit: REUTERS)Turkish flags are placed next to the scene of a suicide bombing at Istiklal street, a major shopping and tourist district, in central Istanbul (photo credit: REUTERS)Police forensic experts inspect the area after a suicide bombing in a major shopping and tourist district in central Istanbul (photo credit: REUTERS)A woman reacts following a suicide bombing in a major shopping and tourist district in central Istanbul (photo credit: REUTERS)IDF chaplains accompany the body of an Israeli victim of the Istanbul suicide bombing (photo credit: FOREIGN MINISTRY)A television journalist reports from the scene of a suicide bombing at Istiklal Street, a major shopping and tourist district, in central Istanbul (photo credit: REUTERS)The flag-draped coffin of an Israeli victim of Istanbul suicide attack is transported to the airport (photo credit: FOREIGN MINISTRY)
On Sunday morning, Magen David Adom (MDA) doctors and paramedics returned from Turkey with some of the wounded on board two planes. The wounded suffered light-to-moderate injuries. After landing back in Israel, Magen David Adom medical teams evacuated them from Ben Gurion Airport to the Sheba, Tel Hashomer and Ichilov medical centers.Later in the day, MDA spokesman Zaki Heller said members of his delegation in Turkey had prepared five more seriously wounded Israeli tourists, in three Turkish hospitals, for flights back to Israel. The tourists were taken in Turkish Red Crescent ambulances, which drovethem to the airport in Istanbul. Every wounded tourist had a team of MDA doctors and paramedics accompanying them.An Israel Air Force plane that contained medical teams and Home Front Command officials picked up the wounded and flew them to Israel. Three coffins carrying the casualties, draped with Israeli flags, were also loaded onto the aircraft.The plane landed at Ben Gurion Airport on Sunday afternoon, and five intensive care MDA ambulances picked up the wounded at Terminal 1. The Soroka, Tel Hashomer, Assaf Harofe, and Beilinson Medical centers received the five wounded.The bodies of the casualties were taken to Dimona, Holon, and the Kaplan Medical Center in Rehovot.Meanwhile, the International Fellowship of Christians and Jews (IFCJ) announced that it will provide each family that was afflicted by the attack with $1000 USD. "The goal of this assistance is to provide families whose loved ones were killed or wounded in the attacks with an immediate grant to help them cover the expense of missed work days, transportation to and from the hospital, hotel bills, and the like," the IFCJ said.
