40 ZAKA commanders from six countries have recently undergone special training in the Home Front Command Corps Brigade in a professional aid and rescue course for disaster victims in a variety of destruction scenarios in Israel and around the world.
Among them were ZAKA commanders from the United States, Africa, Guatemala, France, and Zimbabwe.
The volunteers underwent rescue technique training that included orientation and conduct as professional rescuers in all types of disaster scenarios and earthquake, rescue medicine, and population intelligence alongside training for rescue and treatment of multi-casualty incidents.
ZAKA at disaster scene in Nachal Tzafit:
The ZAKA commanders who arrived in Israel for training have backgrounds in rescue, and most of them are paramedics or doctors.
ZAKA Chairman Yehuda Meshi Zahav said, "Training ZAKA volunteers as rescuers in the Home Front Command is an expression of a long tradition of professional and blessed cooperation between the Home Front Command and the ZAKA organization, which has been expressed in dozens of disaster incidents in recent years in Israel and around the world," he said.
ZAKA International Unit Commander Matti Goldstein added that "This is a first precedent that volunteers come from around the world to learn to be more professional in disaster situations in their countries, some of whom have already accumulated extensive experience in dealing with natural disaster scenes as well as terror attacks around the world."
ZAKA in Guatemala: