Following last night’s missile attack on Israeli soil by Iranian elements in Syria, United Hatzalah has begun mobilizing its network of close to 5,000 volunteers across Israel. Our volunteers in the north of the country number some 550 men and women from all segments of Israel’s population. Jews, Arabs, Christians, Druze and Bedouin alike are working together to make sure that anyone in need of medical assistance in these tense times receives the care that they need in as short a time as possible. As the only completely volunteer and free first response organization in Israel, we are preparing to serve wherever there is a need.
In order to ensure the safety of the volunteer first responders who give up their time and energy to rush out and save others, we need to provide the responders in the north with a protective bullet and shrapnel-proof helmets and vests. Another requirement is that all of the volunteers currently in the north, as well as those who are prepped to head north on a moment’s notice, should be equipped with our new Bluebird communication devices. The north of Israel is one of the areas where the 2G network is non-functional in most regions. Hence, the volunteers who live there as well as those preparing to head that way are in dire need of access to direct two-way communication with our national Dispatch and Command Center. Another 200 devices are needed urgently in order to meet this demand.
The organization is putting all available resources to work to fully equip and prepare for any eventuality that may transpire in the north in order to help the communities who now live under the threat of attack from Syria and Iran, as well as Iran’s proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon.
The President and Founder of United Hatzalah Eli Beer said: “When we created United Hatzalah back in 2006 following the Second Lebanon War, we did so in order to rise to the occasion and answer the needs of the population during a time of national crisis. Another crisis like the one we faced then may very well be approaching in the coming days, weeks or months. It is our obligation to be well equipped and prepared for such a crisis.”
Beer added, “Over the past 12 years, we have grown in size by more than 500 percent and we have developed new technologies and new techniques to help those in need during such a crisis. One of the major developments has been the creation of the Psychotrauma and Crisis Response Unit, which has been instrumental over the past two-and-a-half years in helping the citizens of Israel as well as first responders and security personnel deal with the emotional and psychological after-effects of shock and trauma. This unit may be especially busy in the coming days. To prepare for this possibility, teams of our Psychotrauma Unit responders in the north of Israel met this morning and underwent special briefings regarding how to act in the event that they are needed for intermittent or mass-casualty incidents.”
The organization is maintaining a watchful eye on the developments on Israel’s northern front. Should the situation require it, United Hatzalah will deploy dozens if not hundreds of its volunteers in the north to provide assistance in whatever form it is needed. From medical treatment and aid to psychological and emotional aid, to search and rescue operations, as well as simple humanitarian requirements, the network of volunteers of United Hatzalah is at the ready. With your help, we can adequately equip all of the volunteers who require it in order to protect both them and the resident of the north.
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