July 24 was another difficult day in Nahariya with thirty rockets hitting the city. To date, 254 katyusha rockets have hit Nahariya. Sixty percent of Nahariya's residents have left the city for Central Israel. Those that remain are suffering from severe trauma as they sit in bomb shelters scattered across the city. For Hadassah it is our third day in Nahariya. A second team arrived yesterday with: Dr. Forto Ben Arroch, psychiatrist from Mount Scopus; Ms. Dafna Ribner, clinical psychologist from Mount Scopus; Dr. Nitay Fraenkel, pediatrician from Mount Scopus; Ms. Rita Abramov, Head of the Hadassah Department of Social Services; Ms. Corinne Zeevi-Weil, social worker; and Mr. Nahum Gedalia, Hadassah Patient Services Representative who volunteered to drive the ambulance.
Upon their arrival in Nahariya, sirens blared and Katyusha rockets landed one after the other. Accompanied by municipality representatives the team traveled to shelters adjacent to where the katyusha rockets landed and immediately began to treat those suffering from shock. Special attention was given to the traumatized children who are suffering from shock and some of whom have returned to bedwetting. In parallel, our social workers are manning the city's emergency help headquarters, advising and calming those who arrive and those who call in to the emergency hotlines.
Nahum Gedalia related that in a spontaneous meeting with the Mayor of Nahariya, at the entrance to the municipal building the Mayor noted Hadassah's contribution and said "Many medical institutions promised to help us…. You came."
Nahum continued: "Upon arrival at shelter after shelter, the grateful residents of Nahariya have expressed their surprise that Hadassah staff members from Jerusalem are traveling to the North, risking their own lives, just to help them".
A third team left Hadassah this morning.