Against all odds: the IDF rescued a child alive from the ruins - 4 days after the earthquake (IDF spokesperson)
An unprecedented amount of aid has been flowing to the disaster areas affected by the strong earthquake in Turkey and Syria since Monday night.
The death toll in the two countries together crossed 21,000, with 18,342 civilians lost in Turkey and 3,000 in Syria.
The number of dead is expected to increase when it becomes clear that tens of thousands of missing persons have not been found.
70,347 people were injured and 30,360 were evacuated from the region to other districts, and were left homeless - according to the official data of the Turkish government.
A total of 29,622 search and rescue personnel are already working on the ground in Turkey.
Among them are the teams of the national emergency agency AFAD which coordinates rescue efforts in the country, fire and rescue teams, the Red Crescent, police, gendarmerie, ambulance teams, local security teams and support teams including many volunteers from non-governmental organizations and of course also international search and rescue personnel.
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Displaced persons in Syria after the noise, yesterday (Photo: Reuters)
The destruction from the collapsed buildings (Photo: Reuters)
The UN agency that coordinates the rescue and rescue efforts claimed that 50 countries have already pledged to send aid, 13 of which have already been operating on the ground this week with significant forces. The number of search and rescue personnel from foreign countries now stands at 6,479, including an Israeli delegation of about 500 people and is expected to increase.
The total number of troops operating in the area is already over 120 thousand. Many vehicles and mechanical equipment were recruited for the operation. They include tractors, cranes, bulldozers, trucks and water tanks. According to the Turkish authorities, so far about 137 thousand tents and one and a half million blankets have been distributed to the struggling survivors with the intense cold.
The establishment of the Israeli hospital in the field (Photo: Yoav Ityel)
The field hospital established in the disaster area in Turkey (Photo: Yoav Itiel)
Israeli Field Hospital
While the aid in the first few days was focused on rescue and rescue, the construction of a highly qualified Israeli field hospital, which will be treated by 120 medical personnel, began yesterday.
It is commanded by Col. Prof. Ofer Marin, CEO of Shaare Zedek Hospital, and Lt. Col. Dr. Nehmia Blumberg, Vice President of Shaare Zedek Hospital and Orthopedist at Ichilov Hospital. The hospital was established in the AFAD international complex near the disaster center in Kramanmarsh. Ministry of Foreign Affairs And the IDF coordinates the Israeli activity, in which organizations such as MDA, Ihud Hatzla, Zaka, IsraAID, Harel 669 and more also participate.
"When I realized that there were Israelis out here, I relaxed," said the other day a 65-year-old man who was rescued after the efforts of the Rescue Union volunteers together with the soldiers of the Home Front Command who did not give up, even when it seemed that the rescue was dangerous and impossible.
When one engineer said he didn't approve the entry, they asked for another opinion from another engineer who allowed it.
When a warning was received of another approaching earthquake that could collapse the ruins, the rescuers went out,
Additional personnel and equipment continue to arrive in the affected areas.
Turkey itself assigned 160 Air Force planes that have so far made 1,143 flights to the epicenters of the disaster.
It also operates 22 Navy and Coast Guard ships in the emergency operation.
Experts estimate that the earthquake that occurred is one of the most destructive natural disasters in the last hundred years.
They are warning of the next phase, a humanitarian disaster on the scale of millions of people left homeless.
They warn that due to the security situation in Syria, the victims will receive very little aid.
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