Injured Nepalese residents are treated by Israeli Army medic soldiers at the Israeli field hospital in Kathmandu, May 1, 2015. (Menahem Kahana/AFP via Getty Images)

(JTA) — Israel announced plans to set up a field hospital in western Ukraine as the Russian war against the country shows no sign of abating.

Israeli leaders on Monday approved NIS 21 million, or $6.4 million, to build the hospital, according to an announcement from the office of Prime Minister Naftali Bennett. It will be named after Prime Minister Golda Meir, a native of Kyiv.

Israel, mindful of the Russian military presence and influence in the Middle East and hoping to play a mediating role in ending the war, has been reluctant to fully commit to the West’s isolation of Russia since its army invaded Ukraine Feb. 24.

Forwarding the News

Thoughtful, balanced reporting from the Forward and around the web, bringing you updated news and analysis each day.

Terms(Required)

I agree to the Forward's Terms of Service and Privacy Policy

Email(Required)

The field hospital is a humanitarian move, but a hospital in a region of Ukraine closer to borders with NATO-allied countries offers a meaningful signal about Israel’s relationship to the western alliance confronting Russia’s invasion.

Israel’s field hospitals, deployed frequently in natural disasters, are seen as the most advanced in the world.

“Establishing a field hospital there, in Ukraine, is an initiative that not many countries are capable of taking on themselves,” Bennett said, according to the statement. “The State of Israel has this capability and we are getting underway. This is important and I am pleased that we — the Health Ministry and the Foreign Ministry, with the assistance of the Finance Ministry — are leading it.”

—
The post Israel is setting up a $6.4M field hospital in western Ukraine appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

A message from our CEO & publisher Rachel Fishman Feddersen

I hope you appreciated this article. Before you go, I’d like to ask you to please support the Forward’s award-winning, nonprofit journalism during this critical time.

The coming year promises to be filled with more complex and historic developments. We are entering an era where independent, fact-based Jewish journalism will be more important than ever. We need to be ready for whatever 2025 will bring, and with your help, we can be.

We’ve set a goal to raise $260,000 by December 31. That’s an ambitious goal, but one that will give us the resources we need to invest in the high quality news, opinion, analysis and cultural coverage that isn’t available anywhere else.

If you feel inspired to make an impact, now is the time to give something back. Join us as a member at your most generous level.

—  Rachel Fishman Feddersen, Publisher and CEO

With your support, we’ll be ready for whatever 2025 brings.

$36 $500

$120 $180 Other amount