#IDFinPhilippines Rescue Mission

Israel Defense Forces

In the wake of the devastation caused by Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines, the IDF is carrying out "Operation Islands of Hope":  A 150 member is set to leave for the Philippines today, November 13, 2013, in order to provide search & rescue, and medical services.

This post will provide updates as they become available. All times are Israeli time (GMT +2). Times are approximate. 

For live tweets of Operation Islands of Hope, see: https://twitter.com/IDFrescue

Wednesday, November 13, 2013 

10:45 AM: Lt. Col. Chaim Alisha: "We're bringing 1500 toys to the children; our hope is they will make them feel a little better."

10: 30 AM: Our soldiers at Ben Gurion Airport preparing to board an airplane & save lives following the devastation from Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines.

IDF delegation for Philippines at Ben Gurion Airport

10:00 AM: Operation "Islands of Hope" is the name of the mission of the 150 strong delegation.

Tuesday, November 12, 2013

1:00 PM: A 150 member delegation is set to leave for the Philippines tomorrow or the, Wednesday, November 13, 2013, in order to provide search, rescue, and medical services in the Typhoon-struck city of Tacloban, capital of the Leyte Province.

An advanced multi-department medical facility, equipped with approximately 100 tons of humanitarian and medical supplies from Israel, will be rapidly established in the city of Tacloban to provide medical care for disaster casualties. The facility will be constructed of a children’s department, a women’s department, an ambulatory care department, and a general admission department, operated by IDF doctors, nurses, paramedics, pharmacists, mental health professionals, x-ray technician, and lab workers.

The delegation is comprised of officials in the National Search and Rescue Unit of the Home Front Command headed by the unit commander, Colonel Ramtin Sabti, as well as senior doctors in the IDF Medical Corps, headed by the Vice Surgeon General of the IDF Medical Corps, Colonel Doctor Dudu Dagan.

Monday, November 11, 2013

10:00 AM: A lead expedition of five search, rescue, and medical experts arrived in Tacloban, Philippines and formed a situation assessment determining the urgency for a rapid IDF response. Based on this assessment the of the Chief of the General Staff, Lieutenant General Benjamin (Benny) Gantz, order to deploy a large-scale delegation to the disaster zone.