[AP] Aron Heller - Wary of a missile strike from nearby Gaza, Ashkelon's Barzilai Hospital has moved its most essential departments into an underground bomb shelter. In February a rocket from Gaza landed adjacent to the hospital's helicopter pad and in May a rocket crashed into a busy shopping mall in the city, injuring 14 people. On Saturday, Barzilai relocated the most vulnerable departments and placed its least mobile patients - such as those in the geriatric, infant and maternity wards - underground. On Sunday, two rockets fell in Ashkelon itself and another 22 in the surrounding district, as warning sirens sent doctors, patients and guests rushing for cover several times. In Barzilai's underground children's ward, sick Gazans lay alongside sick Israelis. Dr. Ron Lobel, the hospital's deputy director, said that his facility had close ties with Gaza's Shifa hospital, and accepted many of its patients who need treatment the Gazan hospital cannot provide.
2008-12-29 06:00:00Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive