The hospitals in Israel have gone into full survival mode as missile strikes and a wider campaign with Iran force emergency moves underground, large-scale evacuations and makeshift surgical setups—showing both the cost of conflict and the grim competence of a health system under pressure. This report looks at casualty numbers, how pediatric and adult facilities adapted their spaces and supplies, lessons carried over from earlier fighting, and how military and medical teams are coordinating in real time.
Medical teams moved hundreds of people out of exposed wards after the opening barrages; officials say 777 people were evacuated to hospitals since the start of the joint Israeli-U.S. war against Iran, with at least 10 killed directly by Iranian missile attacks and two more who died en route to shelters. That kind of toll makes clear why hospitals stopped treating normal routines and focused on survival and damage control. Republican readers will recognize this as a moment that underscores why strategic strength and clear alliances matter for keeping civilians and critical infrastructure safe.
Schneider Children’s Medical Center has been on the front lines of adaptation, treating three children injured in the conflict and moving vulnerable kids into underground wards. Professor Efrat Bron-Harlev spoke through the chaos to put a human face on what preparedness looks like: “See, this child,” professor Efrat Bron-Harlev, CEO of Schneider Children’s Medical Center, told Fox News Digital, pointing to a young patient. “This cart is his artificial heart. He has been living here while waiting for a heart transplant. He moved to the underground area together with 119 other children. This is not just a hospital — it’s his home.”
Every hour in these facilities is about trading space for protection and keeping the most fragile patients alive. All patients at Schneider were moved to level minus one, where reinforced doors and segregated systems stand between life-support gear and the blast zone. “We have electricity supplied by large batteries located in another sheltered area, as well as oxygen and air,” she said. “How long we could remain there would depend on the extent of damage to the overall building. A catastrophic strike on the oxygen tanks, for example, would affect how long we could stay.”
Planners are not improvising without lessons from history; the teams folded experience from the June 2025, 12-day war straight into their layout choices. A separate bone marrow transplant unit with its own ventilation system is now a reality, with fresh air pumped independently to minimize infection risk and to isolate immunocompromised children from the rest of the flow. Those are practical fixes born of hard experience and they matter when you are defending tiny lives in a pressure-cooker environment.
There are tough trade-offs in emergency surgery and space. Bron-Harlev described a short-term surgical plan that sacrifices comfort for function, with neonatal zone conversions and two temporary fortified operating rooms standing in until permanent replacements come online. “We are performing only emergency surgeries,” she said. “We have created two provisional but fortified operating rooms that will function until the permanent ones currently under construction are ready. Two are sufficient for now for emergency procedures. I hope we will not face a situation in which 10 children arrive from a major incident needing surgery, but even then, we could operate on them one after the other.”
Nearby adult care at Rabin Medical Center saw injuries but also large-scale movement of beds; officials moved 500 beds some 60 meters underground to keep services functioning under fire. Clalit Health Services, which runs 14 hospitals and cares for more than 5 million people, is pushing staff, logistics and digital health tools to maintain continuity. Virtual care and remote monitoring have become lifelines to reduce unnecessary admissions while supplies and stockpiles of food, oxygen and medicines sit ready in sheltered caches.
Clalit leadership says the threats have sharpened operational thinking after earlier attacks. “We’ve learned a lesson about the importance of preparing for attacks of Iranians targeting civilians in general and hospitals in particular,” Ran Balicer said, and the actions back that up: condensed parking-lot wards, converted dining rooms for parents and consolidated supplies so care can continue despite sirens. The work is ugly and exhausting, with staff facing congestion, infection control challenges and little privacy for patients and families.
Casualties from war come with particular injury patterns, and Israeli medical teams expect to treat limb trauma and complex blast wounds for weeks. “Our rate of mortality on the frontlines is the lowest compared to anywhere else in the world. As such we have to really be effective in rehabilitation work,” he said, pointing to the long effort that follows initial lifesaving. That emphasis on fast trauma care plus robust rehab is another area where readiness turns into results for people getting back on their feet.
The battlefield now touches the homefront, as attackers intentionally target civilian infrastructure and hospitals, blurring old lines that used to separate combat zones from daily life. “They target civilians like they are on the frontlines, they aim deliberately to strike and hurt civilians with weapons that aim to inflict mass-casualty events,” he said, a stark reminder of why deterrence and decisive response are non-negotiable. Military support in hospitals helps move patients during missile alerts and coordinate incoming casualties so medics can keep treating without interruption.
Search and rescue forces are braced for protracted operations, not a short flare-up. “The last operation lasted only 12 days, and it was very significant for our unit, but this time is different,” Major S., head of operations in the IDF’s search and rescue unit, told Fox News Digital. “Our mindset is that this will not end until it is over for good. As the war continues, we are facing attacks from additional fronts, including Hezbollah in Lebanon and potentially the Houthis in Yemen. We are ready for every scenario,” she added, underlining the scale of planning across military and civilian responders.
