Missiles above, newborns below: Israeli hospitals shift critical care underground

TEL AVIV, Israel: The Israeli Health Ministry reported Monday that 777 radical person been evacuated to hospitals since the commencement of the associated Israeli-U.S. warfare against Iran.

At slightest 10 radical were killed straight by Iranian rocket attacks connected Israel, and 2 died connected their mode to shelters.

Since warring began Saturday morning, hospitals nationwide person restructured operations, relocating patients underground to support functionality.

Rabin Medical Center underground hospital, 60 meters beneath ground. (Amelie Botbol  for Fox News Digital.)

"See, this child," Prof. Efrat Bron-Harlev, CEO of Schneider Children's Medical Center, told Fox News Digital, pointing to a young patient. "This cart is his artificial heart. He has been surviving present portion waiting for a bosom transplant. He moved to the underground country unneurotic with 119 different children. This is not conscionable a infirmary — it’s his home," she said.

Schneider Children’s Medical Center has truthful acold treated 3 children injured arsenic a effect of the war. The greater challenge, Bron-Harlev said, is continuing to attraction for each existing patients arsenic rocket sirens dependable crossed the country.

All patients person been relocated to level minus one. Standing successful a corridor, Bron-Harlev explained that if a rocket were to onslaught astatine that moment, those contiguous would request to determination down the dense doors of reinforced areas for protection.

Once sealed, she said, the fortified conception is designed to withstand adjacent a nonstop rocket deed and proceed operating arsenic a portion for a constricted time. "We person energy supplied by ample batteries located successful different sheltered area, arsenic good arsenic oxygen and air," she said. "How agelong we could stay determination would beryllium connected the grade of harm to the wide building. A catastrophic onslaught connected the oxygen tanks, for example, would impact however agelong we could stay."

Surgeons Dr. Kinneret Tenenbaum, Dr. Lior Friedrich and anesthetist, Dr. Lior Barak execute their archetypal cesarean conception amid warfare with Iran. (Rabin Medical Center Spokesperson)

Lessons learned from the June 2025, 12-day warfare see establishing a abstracted portion for bony marrow transplant patients with an autarkic ventilation system. Fresh aerial enters and exits the abstraction without circulating from the regular ward, protecting the children not lone from rocket threats but besides from imaginable infections from different patients.

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In the lawsuit of a mass-casualty incidental involving severely sick children, the infirmary has prepared an intensive attraction portion susceptible of accommodating up to 20 patients astatine a time.

The staff’s underground eating country has been converted into a dormitory for parents. Although determination was not capable clip to conception afloat fortified operating rooms, Bron-Harlev said portion of the neonatal intensive attraction portion has been transformed into a restricted-access surgical area.

Israeli exigency responders successful Beit Shemesh wherever a gathering was straight deed by an Iranian rocket connected March 1, 2026. At slightest 8 radical were killed and dozens injured. (Yoav Dudkevitch/TPS-IL)

"We are performing lone exigency surgeries," she said. "We person created 2 provisional but fortified operating rooms that volition relation until the imperishable ones presently nether operation are ready. Two are capable for present for exigency procedures. I anticipation we volition not look a concern successful which 10 children get from a large incidental needing surgery, but adjacent then, we could run connected them 1 aft the other."

At the adjacent big hospital, which is portion of the aforesaid analyzable — Rabin Medical Center —17 radical were treated arsenic a effect of the war. The infirmary has moved 500 beds 60 meters underground.

Schneider Children’s Medical Center and Rabin Medical Center are 2 of 14 hospitals operated by Clalit Health Services, the largest healthcare enactment successful Israel, providing day-to-day superior care, specialty care, and infirmary attraction to implicit 5 cardinal Israelis.

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Following the motorboat of the run against Iran, Ichilov Hospital successful Tel Aviv is implementing exigency preparedness measures and transferring patients to its underground fortified facilities. (Gideon Markowicz/TPS-IL)

During the 12-day war, Prof. Ran Balicer, Deputy Director General and Chief of Innovation astatine Clalit Health Services, told Fox News Digital that a rocket targeted Soroka Hospital successful Beersheba and deed a gathering that had fortunately been evacuated the time before.

"We’ve learned a acquisition astir the value of preparing for attacks of Iranians targeting civilians successful wide and hospitals successful particular," helium said.

In the 24 hours pursuing the commencement of the war, each patients not successful harmless areas were moved underground, wherever unit tin absorption connected attraction contempt the threats. The parking lot, Balicer explained, is much condensed than a mean ward.

Sixty meters underground astatine the Rabin Medical Center successful Israel. (Amelie Botbol for Fox News Digital)

"There are challenges from congestion to corruption power and privacy, determination are nary windows, each of the sound and the unit is in, it’s a intelligence and carnal strain connected the staff, but they are present to bash what they vowed to do," helium said.

The country includes stockpiles of food, oxygen, and aesculapian supplies. The infirmary besides focuses connected virtual attraction and integer wellness to supply effectual attraction without requiring patients to travel in.

War-associated wounds, Balicer said, see limb injuries and different terrible trauma. "Our complaint of mortality connected the frontlines is the lowest compared to anyplace other successful the world. As specified we person to truly beryllium effectual successful rehabilitation work," helium said.

The enactment betwixt the frontlines and the homefront successful presumption of injuries is nary longer clear-cut.

The insulation country astatine the Rabin Medical Center that is operating underground during ongoing attacks by Iran against Israel. (Amelie Botbol for Fox News Digital.)

"They people civilians similar they are connected the frontlines, they purpose deliberately to onslaught and wounded civilians with weapons that purpose to inflict mass-casualty events," helium said.

Israeli hospitals are besides being secured by IDF soldiers deployed to assistance with moving patients during rocket alerts, if necessary, and to coordinate the accomplishment of casualties.

Major S., caput of operations successful the IDF’s hunt and rescue unit, told Fox News Digital that the forces are preparing for a prolonged campaign.

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"The past cognition lasted lone 12 days, and it was precise important for our unit, but this clip is different," she said.

"Our mindset is that this volition not extremity until it is implicit for good. As the warfare continues, we are facing attacks from further fronts, including Hezbollah successful Lebanon and perchance the Houthis successful Yemen. We are acceptable for each scenario," she added.

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