Doctors from MDA's international unit in Europe, together with volunteers from the Jewish community, transported the injured in vehicles from the hotel to the airport in Amsterdam, where they met the MDA paramedics, Yonat, Issachar, Ofir and Israel, who arrived on the special rescue flight of ELAL, in order to provide care and support to the injured during the flight to Israel
Doctors and medical teams from the international unit of Magen David Adom, located in Belgium and France, went to the central hospital in Amsterdam to help, support, and meet the medical needs of the Israeli wounded.
They arrived at the hospital and met the last of the wounded Israelis in preparation for their release from the hospital after they received good and proper treatment at the hospital. From there, the team of the MDA international unit continued to the hotel where hundreds of Israelis were staying, and in the hotel lobby, they met the Israelis and helped those who asked to be examined.
The initiative was born as part of efforts to provide quick and comprehensive assistance to any Israeli citizen affected by the incident, as part of Magen David Adom's commitment to provide medical assistance beyond Israel's borders when needed.
An emergency medic from the MDA's international unit in Paris, Arie Elmaleh, who arrived with the doctors, said:
"When we learned about the incident, we were in contact with Magen David Adom in Israel, who instructed us to urgently go to the hospital in Amsterdam, to provide any assistance for Israelis who might need it. In the afternoon we arrived at the hospital, where we met the last of the wounded who were released from the hospital, and they told us that they felt well and that they received good medical care.
From there, we continued to the hotel where the Israelis were, and in the hotel lobby, we saw about 200 of the Israelis, including those who had been released from the hospital. They were very happy to see us in the Red Star of David uniform at their place in Amsterdam and it was an exciting meeting. Some of the injured asked to be examined again by our doctors, and we performed medical examinations.
They are overall in good condition and are waiting for their flight back to Israel. We will escort them from the hotel with the help of the Jewish community to the airport, and there they will join our Magen David Adom paramedics who arrived in the Netherlands on a special El-Al flight. We will stay with them until the moment they board the flight”
MDA paramedics, Yonat Daskal Dagan, Issachar Weiss, Ofir Shaish and Israel Weingarten, said excitedly:
"We landed in Holland and immediately went to the terminal. We saw hundreds of Israelis there, about ten of whom suffered injuries and bruises, but all were fully conscious and in a light condition. The injured, men's between the ages of 20 and 70, suffered of bruises on the head and limbs. It was very special; they applauded us and welcomed us happily. We immediately assisted them and transferred them to the plane.
This is an important task, and it warms the heart to know that we, as Magen David Adom - Israel's Emergency Medical Service - reach everywhere. We will refer some of them to further treatment in a hospital in Israel, but most of them will continue the treatment in the community."
