Preparing underground after the threat

HAIFA. Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah singles out Haifa as a target for an attack.

Underground, the port city prepares for a new war.

– It is difficult, they can bomb us all the time, says nurse Anat Harb, 59.

After the assassination of Hezbollah commander Fuad Shukr, the terror-labelled group has promised revenge.

In an address to the nation on Tuesday, Hezbollah’s top leader Hassan Nasrallah spoke of an upcoming rocket attack, targeting Haifa in northern Israel.

– Haifa must be prepared for all scenarios, he said.

Israel expects daily attacks of nearly 4,000 rockets fired, which could lead to thousands of dead and wounded.

At the Rambam Hospital in Haifa they are now preparing for what may happen.

– When Hezbollah bombed the hospital in 2006 we had no protection, this time we are much better prepared, says the hospital’s spokesperson David Ratner.

Bombproof

In 72 hours, the bomb-proof parking garage can be transformed into the world’s largest underground hospital with a total of 2,000 beds and four operating theatres.

– Right now, the third floor is prepared for anything that can happen in northern Israel, says the 54-year-old doctor Nati Horowitz, who is standing in the command center where they maintain contact with the IDF and the government.

What is it like not knowing when an attack might come?

– That is a good question. It is very complicated and something everyone here on the staff asks themselves. When does it happen? First of all, we hope it doesn’t happen, but if it does, there’s nothing we can do. We can only prepare and we will. When they need us, we will be here.

However, caring for people in the underground is not entirely easy, Horowitz admits.

– There is no sunlight down here. The patients will spend 24 hours here without seeing the light and it is very difficult for them. They also don’t have their own rooms so when they wake up there will be a lot of people. Because we will treat all types of injuries you can imagine. These are very difficult challenges.

“Can happen at any time”

On the floor, the Swedish-speaking nurse Anat Harb, 59, walks around and takes care of the patients.

In Sweden, she raised a family and worked at Västervik Hospital. After nine years in Västervik, she moved back to Israel, her son still lives in Sweden. Now she is responsible for wartime medical care in the X-ray department.

– We are prepared, but it will be difficult because we do not know what the attack will be like. Many patients will enter the hospital on the same day, so we can only try to be prepared. But I don’t know if it will be exactly as we had predicted, she says.

Are you worried about the situation?

– Yes, it is difficult. It’s hard to keep working as usual when you keep thinking that it’s going to happen at any moment. Because it will be a scenario where they will bomb us all the time.