Saving lives in Haiti
Photo: IDF Spokesman's Office
Israeli hospital in Haiti ends operations
Israeli team preparing to go home: After performing 316 surgeries and delivering 16 babies, IDF field hospital in Haiti closes its doors Monday as doctors bid patients farewell; Haitian government says quake death toll reaches 150,000
PORT-AU-PRINCE – Israeli doctors preparing to go home: Israel's field hospital in the quake-ravaged Haiti ended its operations at 4 pm local time Monday.
The hospital, set up by the IDF's medical corps, is still home to 15 patients who are being monitored following their operations. However, the Israeli hospital will only be receiving emergency cases during the night.
On Sunday, Israeli doctors already started bidding their patients farewell; many of these patients have no home to return to after leaving the hospital.
314 operations; 16 births (Photo: IDF Spokesman's Office)
By Tuesday morning, the last of the patients will be released and Israel's hospital will shut down. The IDF team in Haiti is expected to arrive back in Israel on Thursday.
The IDF's hospital treated a total of 1,102 Haitians, performed 314 surgeries, and delivered 16 babies during its deployment.
'Exceptional performance'
On Saturday, IDF Home Front Command Chief, Major General Yair Golan, lauded the "exceptional performance" of Israel's medical staff in Haiti.
"We can sum up by saying that we had three missions: Saving lives, providing medical services, and representing the State of Israel honorably," Golan said. "I think we met all three missions admirably. Indeed, the assistance was a drop in the bucket in the face of the immense human suffering in Haiti, yet nonetheless, we are glad that we could have offered some help, considering the difficult conditions over there."
Haiti's government said Monday that the death toll in the wake of the earthquake reached roughly 150,000 people. According to the UN's official count, the death toll stands at 112,250.
Haiti's prime minister turned to donor countries Monday and asked that they offer assistance to the devastated country during what is expected to be a 10-year rehabilitation process. Haiti's government is currently looking into relocating about 400,000 people, who at this time are staying in about 400 camps outside the capital Port-au-Prince.
Meanwhile, local gangs are continuing the looting in the capital, while Haitians in more remote regions are trying to revert to their routine. Residents are slowly returning to work, and more stores are reportedly reopening in the wake of the disaster.
