IDF aid workers re-open hospital to treat wounded after Turkey earthquake

Approximately 140 doctors and nurses are working at the hospital, including paramedics and medical logistics personnel.

 The IDF's aid operation sets up inside a Turkish hospital in order to treat those wounded in the deadly earthquakes, February 10, 2023. (photo credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)
The IDF's aid operation sets up inside a Turkish hospital in order to treat those wounded in the deadly earthquakes, February 10, 2023.
(photo credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

The IDF medical aid mission Operation Olive Branch in Turkey began on Friday to provide medical assistance at a local hospital in the city of Kahramanmaras.

The delegation assisted in the reopening of a local hospital after it had been abandoned during the earthquake, and is set to provide medical treatment to injured in the area.

Using equipment and medical devices from Israel, the members of the delegation used the hospital's emergency rooms and emergency medicine, intensive care and operating rooms.

Approximately 140 doctors and nurses are working at the hospital, including a pharmacist, an X-ray technician, a laboratory technician, paramedics and medical logistics personnel.

Israel's medical aid

 The IDF's aid operation sets up inside a Turkish hospital in order to treat those wounded in the deadly earthquakes, February 10, 2023. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)
The IDF's aid operation sets up inside a Turkish hospital in order to treat those wounded in the deadly earthquakes, February 10, 2023. (credit: IDF SPOKESPERSON'S UNIT)

The Israeli medical aid delegation is headed by the Deputy Chief Medical Officer, Lt.-Col. Dr. Tomer Koller.

Some of the members of the delegation are doctors and nurses who were recruited in the reserve service. There are also representatives from MDA, United Hatzalah, the Health Ministry and other organizations.

The death toll in Turkey

A major earthquake struck Turkey and neighboring Syria on Sunday, killing more than 21,000 people.

Cold, hunger and despair gripped hundreds of thousands of people left homeless in the middle of winter by the region's deadliest earthquake in decades.