Israel Sends aid to Typhoon ravaged Phillipines

The death toll from Super typhoon Haiyan is expected to reach 10,000.  There are critical shortages of food, water and medicine throughout the hardest hit areas of the Philippines. Nearly 800,000 people have been displaced.  The devastation is vast.   Yet within 48 hours,  Israel had medics on the ground in the island archipelago. An Israeli search and  rescue team is also assisting the efforts to locate survivors.

Now Israel's IDF  has sent a Boeing 747 with 234 doctors, nurses, paramedics, and much needed medical equipment and supplies. They are  planning on setting up a field hospital to aid the injured in the Philippines. Col. Ramtin Sabati, who commands the National Rescue Unit, and  deputy Medical Corps chief Col. Dudu Dagan, will supervise the operation.

 From the JPost

Philippine Ambassador to Israel Generoso D.G. Calonge expressed appreciation on Tuesday for the assistance Israel has offered to his storm-ravaged country, saying it made him “so happy.”
“I can’t describe the feeling right now... that my host country cares about our stricken people,” he told The Jerusalem Post.

The American Jewish community is also  mobilizing, and is collecting donations for relief efforts . Donations can be sent to:

Typhoon Haiyan Relief Fund,
The Jewish Federations of North America,
Wall Street Station, PO Box 148, New York, NY 10268

The American Joint Distribution Comittee   will ship food, shelter, hygiene and medical supplies through its partners, the Afya Foundation and Catholic Relief Services and will also be provide "School in a Box" kits for temporary classrooms for displaced children through its ongoing partnership with UNICEF.

JDC P.O. Box 4124 New York, NY 10163 
Make check payable to JDC.
Please write “Typhoon Haiyan Relief” on your check.

Additionally, you can donate directly to IsraAID's efforts here. You can donate in dollars (change the currency at the drop-down box from NIS to USD).

For live-updates of Israeli efforts in the Philippines check out the IDF blog.  They make us proud.