Following a joint situational assessment on Saturday night with the heads of the IDF Home Front Command and Search and Rescue Units due to a serious security threat on the Israeli rescue and relief mission in Turkey, United Hatzalah CEO Eli Pollack and Vice President of Operations Dov Maisel gave the order to the leader of the rescue mission, Major (res.) Yossi Cohen, to end the mission and return to Israel as soon as possible.
The group hastily prepared to fly back to Israel as soon as possible after packing their supplies and gear.
Dr. Miriam Adelson provided her private airplane to bring the team back to Israel on Sunday because there weren’t any accessible planes.
The risk of sending our team to this region of Turkey, which is close to the Syrian border, was known to us, but we took the appropriate precautions to lessen the danger for the sake of our goal to save lives, according to Maisel.
Unfortunately, we have now learned of a specific and immediate threat against the Israeli delegation, thus, we must prioritize the safety of our staff.
We are pleased with what our team has accomplished in just a few days, helping to save 15 people in collaboration with the Turkish Red Cross, local rescue teams, Israel’s Search and Rescue units, and the IDF Home Front Command. I appreciate Dr. Adelson helping me out.
#TurkeyEarthquake #Turkiye #RescueTeam United Hatzalah pic.twitter.com/E2rqmpzGpa
— United Hatzalah (@UnitedHatzalah) February 8, 2023
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