JERUSALEM (JTA) — Israel closed its field hospital in Kathmandu at a joint ceremony with its Nepali counterparts.
The 60-bed field hospital, which treated over 1,400 patients during its 10 days of operation, was closed on Sunday, Reuters reported. The hospital performed 90 life-saving surgeries, and delivered eight babies, six by Caesarean section, according to the Times of Israel.
Some 150 Israelis staffed the hospital, the largest ever erected by the Israel Defense Forces.
“Let me express our sincere gratitude to the government of Israel and to the people of Israel for helping us in times of very critical hours for Nepal,” the country’s urban development minister, Narayan Khadka, said at the ceremony.
The death toll from the 7.8 magnitude earthquake on April 25 and the resulting avalanches centered near Kathmandu rose above 8,000 this weekend, with more than 16,000 injured.
Also Sunday, three new temblors struck the area, at 4.0, 4.2, and 4.4 magnitudes. No new damage was reported, though they sparked panic among the Nepalese living in the open in the quakes’ areas.
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