Doctors from Israel continue treating earthquake victims in Türkiye

ISTANBUL (AA) - Doctors who came to Türkiye, accompanied by an Israeli relief mission, continue their work in a hospital in Kahramanmaras to help and provide treatment for those affected by the earthquake that struck the south of the country.

The Israeli mission arrived in Türkiye to help those affected by the earthquake on Feb. 8 before starting its work the next day.

Dr. Wafi Hamed, a dentist, said that he came to Türkiye with the Israeli mission and started his work in the Kahramanmaras Sahra hospital on Thursday.

"We entered the hospital and it was deserted … We brought with us medical staff and equipment, including emergency rooms, recovery rooms, operations, a dental clinic, and a radiology department, to provide medical treatment to save the wounded who arrive at the hospital," he told Anadolu.

For his part, Dr. Raymon Mokalled from the Israeli mission said: "Since we arrived here, we have provided treatment to more than 250 patients, not only from the earthquake, but also from chronic diseases and who could not find a hospital to visit."

"We treat patients and many children who arrive in a terrible condition, who lost their families under the rubble, and they arrive in a very critical condition," Mokallad told Anadolu.

He went on to say: "We have doctors specializing in all fields, and they help us treat many of the injured."

He said Turkish medical teams came to the hospital in the past two days, and started working together to treat the injured.

He further said that a Syrian child, between the ages of 4 and 5, arrived at the hospital after being under the rubble for five days without food or drink.

He explained that when the child, whose family members were killed due to the collapse of the house, arrived at the hospital, his condition was very critical, but he later improved and was discharged from the hospital in good condition.

"It was difficult for us to see a 5-year-old child in critical condition. He was crying and wanted to see his family, and we know that his family is dead,” he said.

"The child's condition was very moving, and it is something we will not forget. This makes us feel the importance of our presence here and the importance of treating these people," Mokallad said.

"There is a joint work between the teams working to rescue those trapped under the rubble and the hospital workers, which contributed to saving the lives of some people who received treatment from specialized doctors who came with the Israeli mission," he added.

On Wednesday, Israel has dispatched a relief team of 450 people and a field hospital to the earthquake-affected areas in Türkiye, a diplomatic source at the Israeli Embassy in Ankara told Anadolu.

Among the team are search and rescue teams, doctors, nurses and paramedics.

At least 31,643​​​​​​​ people were killed by two strong earthquakes that jolted southern Türkiye last week, the country's disaster agency said on Sunday.

Last Monday’s magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 earthquakes, centered in the Kahramanmaras province, affected more than 13 million people across 10 provinces, also including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, and Sanliurfa.

Several countries in the region, including Syria and Lebanon, also felt the strong tremors that struck Türkiye in the space of less than 10 hours.

* Writing by Mahmoud Barakat