Operation 'angels in white': The battle to save human lives

Dozens of ZAKA volunteers in SUVs and ATVs operated around the clock in the snowstorm that struck Jerusalem, saving lives, first aid, transfer of maternity and sick and supplying drugs, mainly rescue of hundreds of women and children stranded on the roads which come up to Jerusalem or in the city. Praise of Israel Police to Operation angels in white, jeeps unit ZAKA who rescued hundreds of stranded people, women and children who were stranded for hours on Route 1 Jerusalem - Tel Aviv.

On Wednesday, upon the latest weather forecast on the upcoming storm, went into emergency preparedness at ZAKA headquarters were at its peak. SUVs of the organization scattered throughout six provinces in the country were transferred to Jerusalem, the organization's volunteers have received special iron chains to the wheels of vehicles to drive in the snow, as well as special equipment for the protection of volunteers against the cold and snow.

Indeed, from the morning of Thursday, with the beginning of the snowstorm, the ZAKA volunteers entered for continuous activity around the clock until the next day in time for Shabbos. ZAKA Emergency Hotline has received hundreds of inquiries in every respect, transport to hospital, transfer of mohelim for brisim, dialysis patients, cases of hypothermia, drug delivery, search and rescue, the hotline which was reinforced professionally routed calls to volunteers who were deployed in the field.
Zaka was in continuous versus focus on the municipality's emergency as well as in front of a war room of Israeli police and traffic department.

In the late evening the center's emergency of Zaka received many hundreds of inquiries about people, women and children, who are stuck hours in cars and buses on the roads coming up to Jerusalem, including hard cases on the verge of fainting, hypothermia, and infants with no food or hot drink, or people who must receive medications. Parents cried tears: Save us.

ZAKA recruited to this hard rescue operation. Coordination with the traffic police began to focus at national headquarters of Zaka, and under commands of Chaim Otmazgin, commander of the special units of the ZAKA emergency recruiting dozens of volunteers from the jeeps unit ZAKA from the center. Special operation code-named Operation 'angels in white', and indeed more than 60 SUVs joined this special rescue operation. ZAKA SUVs special police escort vehicles managed to reach vehicles stuck on Route 1 from the root node to the outskirts of the city of Jerusalem.

One of many cases, there was a call at the Zaka center which came from family members about their grandmother 82 year old woman who lives alone in her home in Shaarei Hesed and doesn’t answer the phone. Volunteer staff rushed to the scene, the door was locked, and despite banging on the door, volunteers were not answered. Volunteers received an order to break the door and the old woman was found lying in bed in a state of hypothermia, shivering with no electricity and no heating furnace.

In the afternoon of Friday, after further preparation meeting, it was decided at Zaka to start the second part of Operation 'angels in white' - turn to the hundreds that are extracted from the night staying at a community center in Mevaseret Zion, and return them to the center so they can make Shabbos along with their families.

Zaka again activated the 'Jeep unit of Zaka, at the gas station Latrun citizen's transportation vehicles were assembled recruited for this purpose as well as five buses. SUVs began to take the people from Mevaseret Zion to the gas station at Latrun, where hot drinks and pastries were waiting for them, and then transferred them to the center of the country - back home.

Yehuda Meshi Zahav Chairman Zaka said: "It was a very complex operation, ZAKA volunteers dedicated acted conscientiously and with great love to any call for assistance. This was unquestionably a huge failure and total failure of the overall system which is not known to respond in real time, but I'm pleased with the tremendous power that charity organizations showed, who worked tirelessly around the clock to be of help, while the authorities did not function."

Chaim Otmazgin, commander of the special Zaka unit, who commanded Operation angels in white, said: "By the huge amount of references to the ZAKA emergency line people we realized there is real danger, dozens of volunteers with SUVs were recruited within an hour, smile on the citizens faces when we managed to find them and rescue them after they were stranded for hours in the freezing cold, was worth it all."

'בחדרי' גם ברשתות החברתיות - הצטרפו!