Health Minister Haim Katz and Director-General of the Ministry of Health Moshe Bar Siman-Tov attended the drill to evaluate the readiness of the different teams.
During the drill, a discussion was held with the participation of the Prime Minister, Health Minister Haim Katz, ministry of Health Director-General Moshe Bar Siman-Tov, Ziv Medical Center Director Prof. Salman Zarka, senior hospital staff, and Home Front Command officials.
Ziv Medical Center practiced a scenario on an isolated site, including evacuation of inpatient departments, deployment of triage and treatment sites within the hospital grounds, and reception of earthquake casualties—both those evacuated via Magen David Adom and those arriving independently.
This drill is part of a series of exercises simulating earthquake scenarios.
For the first time, a combined drill was held with reinforcement medical teams specializing in emergency and trauma care from Tel Aviv Medical Center (Ichilov) via MDA helicopter, and a field hospital from Sheba Medical Center was deployed, offering emergency treatment, hospitalization, operating rooms, consultation clinics, imaging, and laboratory services.
Peer professional oversight was conducted by the Northern Medical Center (Poriya), accompanied by reviewers from the Hospital Preparedness Branch of the Home Front Command and the ministry of Health Emergency Division.
Health Minister Haim Katz: “Different emergency scenarios require precise and varied preparations. This drill is intended to test the health system’s readiness to function effectively even under extreme conditions, provide rapid, life-saving medical response, and ensure hospitals can handle infrastructure damage, exceptional patient loads, and delayed assistance. Early preparation, drills, and collaboration among all parties are key to saving lives in an emergency.”
Ministry of Health Director-General Moshe Bar Siman-Tov: “Strengthening the health system’s emergency preparedness and improving its ability to respond to extreme events has been a central focus of our efforts and resources over the past years. As we have seen during two years of complex conflict, including Operation ‘With All Might,’ nothing replaces advance preparedness—it literally saves lives in a crisis. In emergencies, the health system has a dual responsibility: providing immediate, broad care to victims of the scenario while continuing treatment for all hospitalized patients as much as possible. The emergency drill at Ziv, conducted with the Home Front Command, is an important step in enhancing readiness for a destructive earthquake, and I am confident we will derive lessons applicable to all hospitals and the health system as a whole.”
Ziv Medical Center Director Prof. Salman Zarka: “Today’s drill represents a major step forward in emergency preparedness, particularly for an earthquake scenario, which is unique and challenging for us. Ziv is a standalone hospital serving a large area in the north, located near the Syrian-African fault line, placing great responsibility on us. After many months of conflict where the Ziv team acted professionally to save lives and treat patients, it was crucial to conduct a specific calibration and preparedness exercise for earthquakes. This was successfully carried out with the support of the Home Front Command and the Ministry of Health and in partnership with Ichilov and Sheba Medical Centers, which deployed a field hospital at our site. I thank the Prime Minister for his involvement during the drill and Health Minister Haim Katz and Director-General Moshe Bar Siman-Tov for their partnership, support, and commitment to strengthening the health system’s readiness in the north.”