Thursday, August 18, 2011
IDF soldiers killed several terrorists and search for others.
Attack on Bus 392
Magen David Adom (MDA) has declared a mass casualty event and the State of Israel has moved to its highest security alert nationwide as hospitals report that five are dead following terror attacks that struck the country's southern region midday Thursday.
Authorities are calling for Israeli to donate blood at local MDA stations across the country. The area has been declared a closed military area and the IDF spokesman has asked people to keep away.
At Yoseftal Medical Center, 29 casualties were admitted with a range of injuries, including severe trauma. Seven of the most critically wounded were sent by medical helicopter to Soroka Medical Center in Be'er Sheva.
Two Egged buses and an IDF vehicle were targeted by unidentified terrorist cells in what appears to be a coordinated operation. Several soldiers were also wounded when explosives went off at the security fence with Gaza.
In the first attack, three terrorists ambushed bus # 392 about 30 kilometers from Eilat as it traveled on Route 12 from Be'er Sheva towards the city, opening fire with automatic weapons. Most of the passengers in the first bus were IDF soldiers heading to the Red Sea resort city on leave. The troops engaged the terrorists in a shootout, killing at least two of the three operatives and leaving a third critically injured.
Terrorists targeted a second Egged bus less than an hour later, firing a rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) at the vehicle and wounding more passengers just a few kilometers from Eilat.
An IDF military vehicle was blown up as it raced to the scene, driving over an explosive device planted on the narrow road, killing the car's occupants.
A number of soldiers were seriously wounded in the attack. •
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Soldiers Literally Give their Blood for Israel
where troops give 25 percent of blood bank donations.
The expression of soldiers giving their blood for a country never is truer than in Israel, where troops contribute 25 percent of blood bank donations.
IDF soldiers every year contribute 72,000 units of blood, according to the military. The total amount of donations to the nation’s blood bank every year is nearly 200,000 units.
Every soldier who meets the criteria set by the Health Ministry can contribute once every six months, when the IDF operates mandatory twice-yearly blood donation centers for soldiers.
Blood donated by IDF soldiers ends up being used both for soldiers and members of the general public. Almost 100 percent of blood donations are given through Magen David Adom (MDA).
Israelis donate on the average 1.3 times a year. Women account for only 25 percent of the blood donors, with anemia being cited as one of the reasons for the relatively low rate compared with men.
"The percentage of donors required to assure that there will be enough blood to meet the needs of the medical system in Israel is approaching the 5 percent limit, much higher than in most other countries.
However, “It is not enough, although we are definitely in a good place in the middle", explains Prof. Eilat Shinar, Director of Blood Services. "The donor rate in the United States fluctuates between 3-4 percent and likewise can be found in some countries in Europe.” •
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