17 tons of equipment for Israeli field hospital en route to Ukraine
El Al jet will take contents to Poland; from there it will head to western Ukrainian town of Mostyska to establish medical facility for those fleeing conflict
Seventeen tons of equipment needed to set up an Israeli field hospital in Ukraine were loaded onto a cargo plane of national carrier El Al Thursday, the Health Ministry said in a statement.
The cargo will be flown later in the day to Poland and from there sent to the town of Mostyska in western Ukraine, where the hospital, dubbed “Kohav Meir” (“Shining Star”) will be set up.
A delegation of doctors led by David Dagan, chief of the State Hospitals Directorate at the Health Ministry, will fly out Sunday to staff the hospital. The delegation will include doctors and medical staff from across Israel’s health system, the statement said.
The government on Monday approved plans for the Israeli field hospital to be established in war-torn Ukraine, where it will operate for a month.
The NIS 21 million ($6.5 million) budget is to come from the Prime Minister’s Office, the Health Ministry and Foreign Ministry, as well as the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation and the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, a government statement said.
The facility will be operated by staff from Sheba Medical Center, Clalit Health Services and other hospitals, according to the Health Ministry.
The hospital will include wards for children and adults, an emergency room, a delivery room and a primary care clinic.
Representatives from the Foreign Ministry will also join the delegation.
Health Minister Nitzan Horowitz clarified last week that the hospital will be managed and manned exclusively by civilians.
The project is named after former prime minister Golda Meir, who was born in Ukraine and was the founder of the Foreign Ministry’s Agency for International Development Cooperation aid program, which is leading the field hospital project.
Kyiv-born Meir has become a symbol of hope for some Ukrainians amid Russia’s invasion.
Israel has already sent a 100-ton humanitarian aid package to Ukraine, which Russia invaded on February 24 in a military campaign that has met with fierce resistance.
The aid included medical equipment, medication, water purifiers, tents, blankets and sleeping bags, with additional aid to be provided in the coming weeks, the Foreign Ministry said.
