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25 ZAKA volunteers successfully completed the “Rescue 02” course at the IDF Homefront Command Base 16, joining ZAKA rescue volunteers, which includes hundreds of certified personnel nationwide.

For four days, the volunteers trained and qualified in the training base of the Homefront Command in order to act and provide quick assistance to disaster victims in the context of disaster sites. The training included orientation and conduct as rapid responders in reference scenarios and types of disaster, rescue and intelligence services, alongside training for rescue and treatment of multi-casualty incidents.

The training of ZAKA volunteers as rescuers is a longstanding tradition of professional cooperation between the Homefront Command and the ZAKA organization, which is reflected in the events that took place in recent years, most notably the collapse of the parking lot in Tel Aviv and the explosion of the building in Jaffa a few months ago.

The course participants were praised by the instructors for the seriousness and professional knowledge they had acquired in just a few days.

The course was carried out with the encouragement of the Chief of the Homefront Command, who noted that “the cooperation between the command responsible for ZAKA is a very welcome and necessary cooperation. ZAKA has proven time after time that its volunteers will be among the first to arrive at the scene of an event and therefore it is very important that they have professional training in rescue operations.

Chaim Otmazgin, commander of ZAKA’s special units, said that the volunteers join ZAKA’s rescue unit and will be able to provide rescue and rescue services in the event of a disaster, such as building collapses or earthquakes in Israel and around the world. “We hope and pray that we will always cooperate only in training and not chas v’sholom have a need to do so in real events”.

(YWN Israel Desk – Jerusalem)