Abstract
On February 6, 2023, at 4:17 AM local time, an earthquake of 7.8 on the Richter scale devastated southeastern Turkey and parts of Syria resulting in over 50,000 deaths. As in past natural disasters, the Israeli government, in coordination with the Israel Defense Forces Home Front Command, organized a medical delegation of 142 personnel. The Israeli medical delegation arrived in Turkey on February 8, 2023, and decided to integrate with an existing hospital in the city of Kahramanmaraş. The hospital had been left with a skeleton staff. From February 9, 2023, through February 14, 2023, the Israeli team helped bring the Necip Fazil City Hospital back to working capacity. Working alongside volunteer Turkish medical professionals, they treated patients in the emergency department (ED) as well as the inpatient wards and intensive care unit of the hospital. A total of 470 patients were examined by the Israeli team in the ED during the 6 days of clinical operation. There was a peak of 152 patients on February 11, 2023. The ED staff treated 17 patients removed from the rubble of the earthquake. Ten patients underwent operations, 48 were hospitalized in the inpatient ward, and 27 in the intensive care unit. However, the biggest accomplishment was helping rehabilitate the ED and overall the hospital so that groups of volunteer Turkish physicians could continue their operation.