No Israelis Reported Hurt in New Quake That Hit Nepal

Nepal shook again on Tuesday, as a 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck near Mount Everest and the border with Tibet.

Israel’s Foreign Ministry said that as of noon Tuesday there were no reports of Israelis hurt in the quake.

But that doesn’t mean that Israelis in the country were unaffected. “There are people trapped near the Chabad house,” Tziporah Lischitz, a local Chabad representative reported. “The whole ground shook under us. The Rabbi ran out with his first aid kit to help the injured. The situation again doesn’t look good,” she said.

Israeli-based humanitarian aid agency IsraAid, which has been active in post-quake Nepal, released a statement saying that phones were down in Kathmandu and people were staying outside, afraid to come indoors.

“I am worried for vulnerable neighborhoods like Gongabu, where our search and rescue team rescued Krishnadevi last week. The houses there are not sturdy, and many were damaged by the earthquake. We are on the way there now,” said Yotam Polizer, IsraAID’s head of mission on the ground in Nepal.

Back in Israel, during a reception for IDF rescue personnel returning from Nepal, Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu told them that they might have to turn around and go back.

“I am certain that you are already prepared for your next mission, wherever that may be and, according to the news, the next mission may already be upon us. I said to the ambassador from Nepal a few minutes ago that we are ready to help with all our capabilities even now,” he said. “The world is gradually learning they have someone to count on.”

This article appeared in print on page 38 of the May 13th, 2015 edition of Hamodia.