380 Israeli aid workers in Turkey after earthquake

Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen landed in Turkey in mid-February to show solidarity with the country after the earthquake that took the lives of tens of thousands and forced millions to flee. By then, 280 Israeli aid workers had already been on site for over a week.

Photo: President of Turkey Israeli Foreign Minister Eli Cohen visited Turkey and met the country’s President Erdogan

Eli Cohen met both President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu during his visit to Ankara. Upon landing in Turkey, Cohen said he’d come to extend “the condolences of the Israeli people” to Erdogan and Cavusoglu.

“Israel stands alongside Turkey at this difficult time and will continue to assist through the activities of our forces and by providing humanitarian aid,” he added. For security reasons Israel kept the visit secret until Cohen landed, reports The Times of Israel, and by mid-February, the number of confirmed dead had risen to nearly 40,000.

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) dispatched an initial delegation as early as Monday evening, less than a day after the earthquake the same morning, February 6. This was followed by a larger 150-person delegation early Tuesday morning. On Wednesday a field hospital together with 230 medical personnel was then sent to Turkey, further expanding Israeli aid.

The Israeli military hospital is regularly sent to various disaster areas to provide humanitarian aid in natural disasters, such as earthquakes, wildfires, floods and collapsed buildings. The field hospital was also deployed in Ukraine after Russia’s invasion of the country a year ago.

In a video statement addressing the decision to send a field hospital, the head of the IDF Medical Corps, Brigadier General Dr. Elon Glassberg said,

“This is a difficult hour for the Turkish nation and we are proud that we can come and assist. The capacity to send a hospital to another country is almost unique and we are proud to be the ones to come and help. Few countries can do such a thing. We have done it before, and we will do it again, as always, with professionalism and a sense of responsibility and pride … we want to bring honour to the State of Israel.“

Overnight early Tuesday, a rescue operation was able to save a 23-year-old woman who’d been trapped under the rubble since Monday morning.

– The rescue involved a lot of engineering skilled work, as well as that of doctors and paramedics when the 23-year-old woman finally emerged, in good health except for a pelvic fracture, said team leader Matan Schneider. After the rescue, the young woman was able to return to her fiancé. The mission to rescue the woman took four and a half hours from start to finish and was done after the team were told about noises coming from rubble on the side of the road they were traveling on.

The IDF’s rescue mission in Turkey, which was dubbed “Operation Olive Branches” took place in collaboration with Turkish and international counterparts, and was prepared to handle extreme weather conditions. In the first week, the IDF rescued 19 people. They also provided medical assistance to the injured at a local hospital in the city of Kahramanmaraş. The medical team came to Turkey with seventeen tons of medical equipment and 10 tons of logistical and administrative equipment.

PM Benjamin Netanyahu said already on the day of the earthquake that Israel also plans to send aid to Syria, including tents, medicine and blankets. In his condolences to Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Israeli Foreign Minister, Eli Cohen expressed his deep sorrow at the loss of life and pledged to act to provide aid to Turkey. Also, Israeli President Isaac Herzog spoke with Turkish President Erdogan on Monday, according to a statement from Herzog’s office. Herzog offered his condolences on behalf of the people of Israel, and Erdogan similarly expressed his consolation for the victims of last week’s terror attack in the Neveh Ya’acov neighborhood of Jerusalem.

Israel was one of the first nations to offer Turkey aid after the devastating earthquakes in the region. Following the earthquake, Netanyahu ordered the head of the National Security Council, Tzachi Hanegbi, to evaluate Israel’s preparedness to meet earthquakes. Israel’s military confirmed that a minor earthquake was felt in Israel the day after the one in Turkey, causing tremors in Jerusalem and in areas close to Ramallah. The quake had a magnitude of 3.5 and its epicenter was approximately 15 km southeast of the settlement of Ariel, according to a report from the Ministry of Energy’s seismology department. Previous to that, a smaller earthquake in the Jerusalem area and near the Dead Sea reached a magnitude of 4.4. Experts have warned that the Israeli infrastructure is not sufficiently prepared for a major earthquake.