An Israeli medical delegation visited Germany recently to train the staff of a major Berlin hospital in how to continue operating in wartime, and in particular during missile attacks.
The German government had reached out to the Sheba Tel-HaShomer Medical Center requesting such training as fears of the Ukraine war overflowing into other parts of Europe continue to grow.
Simulations included a possible strike from Kaliningrad, a Russian semi-exclave bordering on the Baltic states. Analysts estimate that ballistic missiles housed in the port city, located between Lithuania and Poland, could reach Germany in as little as five and a half minutes. Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin has a staff of 23,000 and can accommodate thousands of patients. One of its campuses is located near the Bundestag and is therefore feared to be at risk in case of a strike on the parliament. Dr. Yoel Har-Even, Sheba’s director of the International Division and Resource Development and leader of the delegation, said that the hospital infrastructure was unprepared for such a conflict as Germany “has not faced a security threat for 80 years now.”
“The local government is very worried about the possibility of the Ukraine war getting out of control and about the certain ability that the Russians have to attack” them, he said.
This article was first published by Israel Hayom.
