Israeli search team left Turkey: we received threat intelligence

United Hatzalah, one of the Israeli groups carrying out search and rescue activities in the earthquake region in Turkey, said in a statement on Twitter: “We are ending the rescue mission due to serious security threats against the Israeli team. and our team will return to Israel as soon as possible.”

The Israeli press reported that after meetings with the country’s authorities, it was decided that the United Hatzalah team would return to Israel. The 25-person Israeli team was reported to have returned to Israel on a private plane today.

United Hatzalah Vice President Dov Maisel said: “We knew there were certain risks in sending our team to this region of Turkey, which is very close to the Syrian border, but we took steps to reduce the threats to this lifesaving operation. lives. “Unfortunately, we have received solid intelligence about an imminent threat to the Israeli delegation,” he said.

United Hatzalah was one of the search and rescue teams that arrived in Turkey from Israel. It is estimated that around 450 search and rescue workers arrived in Turkey from Israel.

The rescue teams of the Austrian Army also stopped their work on Saturday due to the events that threatened security, and then resumed their work under the protection of Turkish soldiers. Two aid organizations in Germany announced that they had stopped their activities in the earthquake zones due to security concerns.