Jordan Times
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Army hospital offers helping hand to Lebanese people
By Mahmoud Al Abed
BEIRUT — Jordan's army-run mobile hospital treated more than 400 people in the first 24 hours of its operation, officials said Saturday.
Most of those treated by the hospital, part of the Kingdom's efforts to help the Lebanese people suffering from a 17-day Israeli war on their country, were displaced persons, the officials in charge of the facility told a team of Jordanian journalists in the Lebanese capital.
The journalists — who were flown aboard a military plane that carried badly needed assistance to the Lebanese people — called on the facility on Saturday, one day after it started its work at a school in Farradeh neighbourhood of southern Beirut.
Crowds of people, old and young, were witnessed seeking the help of 200 specialised doctors at the facility.
Hospital Commander Colonel Murtada Majali said the team has not yet dealt with war injuries, but said the makeshift hospital was ready with all specialised units, including an operation theatre for minor and major surgeries. There is also an emergency room, in addition to a construction, paediatric, orthopaedic, gynaecologic and psychological clinics as well as an X-ray and UV units.
Majali said the hospital is expecting to deal with 600 cases a day.
The 40-bed hospital is capable of receiving in-patients. This capacity could be expanded according to demand, hospital director Colonel Farhan Kasasbeh said.
The Kingdom has also offered to treat wounded Lebanese at Jordanian hospitals. Military planes shuttling between Amman and Beirut with relief aid since last week have on board air evacuation teams capable of taking back to Jordan cases that need medical attention. Director of the Aeroevacuation Centre at the Royal Medical Services Lt. Colonel Nawaf Khazaaleh said each C130 Hercules can handle 50 cases of critical, moderate or mild injuries.
Chargé d'affaires at the Jordanian embassy in Beirut, Mohammad Fayez, said the hospital received a warm welcome by the Lebanese people, while patients reporting at the clinics voiced appreciation for the services offered and commended the quality of medical care they get at the facility.
Seventh plane
The plane, which on Saturday transported the team of Jordanian journalists to Beirut, was carrying 16 tonnes of food and medical supplies. It was the seventh such flight Jordan dispatched to the war-hit country. The first plane landed in Beirut Wednesday, making Jordan the first country to overcome the Israeli-imposed air blockade. It had on board a team of engineering corps who are currently repairing Beirut airport's runways, destroyed by Israel in the early days of the assault.
The food and medical aid is provided by the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organisation, the country's humanitarian relief work arm.
Also Saturday, Jordan facilitated the mission of two UAE aeroplanes laden with relief aid bound for Lebanon, officials said. The two aircraft landed at Amman's Marka Airport, before continuing their trip to Beirut.
On Friday, another Royal Jordanian Air Force aircraft arrived in Beirut with UNICEF humanitarian supplies. The flight carried 250 boxes of family water kits sufficient for 2,500 families and over 500,000 water purification tablets. It also carried 32 boxes of medical supplies, including urgently needed insulin, a UNICEF statement said.
The international children welfare agency hailed "the Jordanian gesture of extending humanitarian assistance at this critical moment and appreciated the effective and strong leadership of the Kingdom in support of ongoing relief operations by the UN."
"We are immensely grateful for this show of solidarity and trust that these vital supplies will urgently reach Lebanese women and children worst hit by continuing attacks," said Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa Thomas McDermott.