Last night, the Israel Dog Unit (IDU), a nonprofit specializing in search and rescue, took part in a joint-force search and rescue exercise in the town of Moreshet, near Haifa. The exercise included the MDA, Israel Police, Galilee-Carmel Rescue Unit, and the local emergency response team from Moreshet itself. Rescuers simulated the location and rescue of three separate missing persons in two different areas of the surrounding countryside
IDU director Yekutiel Ben-Yaakov commented: "We accept every request from an emergency body interested in improving its interunit cooperation, in order to learn together how to streamline our response to missing-person incidents and maximize the value trained working dogs add to a search and rescue effort.
The following morning, the IDU, in coordination with the Zevulun precinct of the Israel Police, brought a number o security dogs to patrol popular public spots in the Haifa area, to give a sense of security to the public and help secure the areas patrolled. The gesture met was warmly received by the public.
Ben-Yaakov added: “The IDU also deals with security matters, and like every organization that does has raised its alert level in light of the recent spate of terror attacks. At the same time, we cannot lose sight of the many missing persons that desperately need our help.”