Israel Sending Health Care Supplies To Ebola-Stricken West Africa

(JNS.org) The Israeli government is about to send much-needed equipment and medical supplies to the West African nations stricken by Ebola. The shipment, which is leaving from Ashdod to Sierra Leone, Liberia, and Guinea, includes six cargo containers full of special equipment used to set up portable field hospitals. IsraAID is the only Israeli organization operating in West Africa, where it provides training to healthcare workers to address the psycho-social impact of Ebola. The Israeli government will put the West African countries in touch with Israeli aid groups in order to send more volunteers, doctors, and other medical staff from Israel. Aid will also be distributed to Cameroon and the Ivory Coast to prevent the disease from spreading there. The total cost of the assistance is approximately $314,000.

Iron Dome Battery Deployed In Northern Israel

(JNS.org) Amid concerns of a possible escalation of hostilities along Israel’s northern border, an Iron Dome anti-missile system battery has been deployed in the area.The battery was positioned near Haifa to defend against possible threats from Lebanon and Syria, Israel’s Channel 2 reported Tuesday.” A senior Israeli defense official recently warned that the Iron Dome system would be unable to fully protect Israel against a massive rocket attack by Hezbollah. “Ben-Gurion International Airport would have to be shut down from early on in the fighting against Hezbollah. Iron Dome won’t be able to duplicate its interception rate from Operation Protective Edge,” the official said, according to Israel Hayom.