Israeli Hospital Under Jerusalem Prepares for Worst-Case Scenario: Full-Scale War with Hezbollah
An underground hospital in Jerusalem, Israel, is bracing for the worst as the low-level conflict with Hezbollah threatens escalation.
According to doctors at Jerusalem's largest subterranean medical facility, they are ready for whatever comes next.
Situated beneath the city's surface, Israeli medics are preparing for the direst possibilities, reports Sky News. In an exclusive visit, Sky News toured the underground hospital in Jerusalem, part of Israel's efforts to expand its capacity in the event of a worsening conflict, such as the Gaza war.
In a bunker below the Herzog Medical Center, bed capacity has been increased to 350, with an additional 100 beds planned, Sky News revealed. According to Israeli physician Yechezkel Kain, the facility is "designed to withstand biological and chemical attacks," featuring a "pressure equalization room built with two sets of separate blast-resistant doors."
Moreover, a completely new level of wards has been installed beneath the existing underground hospital, removing the logistical floor to make room for more beds and equipment, Kain added.
He highlighted that the shelters would be activated if hospitals near the front lines needed evacuation, planning for "the worst scenarios like a full-scale war with Hezbollah."
"Hospitals in the north would overflow with casualties and come under fire themselves, necessitating their patients' evacuation to central Israel, as happened in the early weeks of the war in the South," he explained.
The Israeli doctor noted that the October 7 attack by Hamas and the barrage of rockets and drones previously launched by Iran this month "changed everything for the people of Israel."
Above ground, the Herzog Medical Center continues its operations, treating many Israelis suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder due to the Gaza war, according to Sky News.
Sky News pointed out that should Jerusalem itself come under attack, the hospital can evacuate even the most vulnerable to the shelters below within a few hours. The bunkers can be completely sealed for 96 hours in what's termed "Noah's Ark procedures."
The Herzog staff is regularly trained, "preparing for a reality they hope never comes," as Sky News put it, noting the ominous developments along the northern border.
Israel has launched one of its largest bombing operations yet on Hezbollah in Lebanon, with the group retaliating by striking northern Israel and warning of further escalation.