Arutz-7's Kobi Sela reported from the Foreign Ministry situation room in Jerusalem that the reporters were not given stations at which to sit: "They need every phone there is - either to hear from parents reporting on whether they have heard from their children, or to try to get through to the areas that were hit, despite the faulty communications there."
As of early Sunday morning, the situation center of the Foreign Ministry, as well as its missions in Bangkok, New Delhi, and Bombay have been functioning on an emergency basis. Crisis centers have also been established in Phuket and Karabai Koh-Phiphi in Thailand. The hotline to call is 972-2-530-3155.
Some 1,700 Israelis were known to be in southeast Asia when the earthquake and resulting tsunamis hit, and several hundred of them have not yet been contacted. Many of them were in areas that were not directly affected by the calamity. One Israeli is known to have been killed in the catastrophe, and 33 injured, including four seriously.
The country of Sri Lanka, which has been most hard-hit, refuses to accept Israeli rescue personnel. Though Sri Lanka's population is 70% Buddhist, and only 7% Moslem, it has no diplomatic relations with Israel. An Israeli shipment of equipment and medicine will be accepted there, however. A 50-member medical delegation of Israeli doctors, nurses and others departed last night for Thailand, and have already established a field hospital there.
Six Israeli hikers were rescued by a boat from an isolated Buddhist monastery in Sri Lanka, near a tsunami-hit area. The six were on the beach or in the water nearby when they were swept away by a giant wave. Aside from their bathing suits, all their belongings and documents were apparently lost.
Rabbi Shabtai Sabato of Beit El, at an anti-disengagement straegy planning session last night, stated, "Why is it that the media are full of reports, for days, about the missing Israelis in southeast Asia – some of whom say they plan to remain there for now – while when mortar shells rain down upon Israeli communities day after day here at home, no one pays attention, and it's mentioned in the news only in passing?" The people of Gush Katif don’t take it personally, though. They have announced that after prayers this evening, a special prayer-and-Psalm recital will be held for the welfare of the missing Israelis in southeast Asia.
As of early Sunday morning, the situation center of the Foreign Ministry, as well as its missions in Bangkok, New Delhi, and Bombay have been functioning on an emergency basis. Crisis centers have also been established in Phuket and Karabai Koh-Phiphi in Thailand. The hotline to call is 972-2-530-3155.
Some 1,700 Israelis were known to be in southeast Asia when the earthquake and resulting tsunamis hit, and several hundred of them have not yet been contacted. Many of them were in areas that were not directly affected by the calamity. One Israeli is known to have been killed in the catastrophe, and 33 injured, including four seriously.
The country of Sri Lanka, which has been most hard-hit, refuses to accept Israeli rescue personnel. Though Sri Lanka's population is 70% Buddhist, and only 7% Moslem, it has no diplomatic relations with Israel. An Israeli shipment of equipment and medicine will be accepted there, however. A 50-member medical delegation of Israeli doctors, nurses and others departed last night for Thailand, and have already established a field hospital there.
Six Israeli hikers were rescued by a boat from an isolated Buddhist monastery in Sri Lanka, near a tsunami-hit area. The six were on the beach or in the water nearby when they were swept away by a giant wave. Aside from their bathing suits, all their belongings and documents were apparently lost.
Rabbi Shabtai Sabato of Beit El, at an anti-disengagement straegy planning session last night, stated, "Why is it that the media are full of reports, for days, about the missing Israelis in southeast Asia – some of whom say they plan to remain there for now – while when mortar shells rain down upon Israeli communities day after day here at home, no one pays attention, and it's mentioned in the news only in passing?" The people of Gush Katif don’t take it personally, though. They have announced that after prayers this evening, a special prayer-and-Psalm recital will be held for the welfare of the missing Israelis in southeast Asia.