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Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman spoke with Israel News 10 hours after the powerful earthquake that killed at least 1,800 people in Nepal, leaving thousands injured.

Lieberman stated efforts to locate Israelis among the fatalities continue and at present there are none, but there are a number counted among the injured. He stated there are 1,300 to 1,500 Israeli trekkers in Nepal. He stated two planes are being dispatched, one bringing aid and the other equipped with incubators and other equipment to bring babies of surrogate mothers home along with Israelis trapped in Nepal.

Lieberman explained the flight bringing the babies and others will fly to Israel via India. He stated the hospital where the babies are was not hit in the quake. The minister stated many of the Israelis who ran to the embassy seeking safety fled hotels without passports or any documents and the situation is complicated for this and a number of other reasons. The minister has words of praise for all state agencies for the cooperation exhibited during this state of emergency, including the Prime Minister’s Office and Interior Ministry, both working to cut red tape, secure passports where needed and to bring citizens home in an expeditious fashion.

The senior minister declined to respond to questions about reported Israeli attacks against Hizbullah missile storage facilities along the Syrian-Lebanese border.

(YWN – Israel Desk, Jerusalem)