{
  "id": 308342,
  "title": "Years of disaster drills kept Israeli hospitals running - until Oct. 7 exposed the gaps",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/08/years-of-disaster-drills-kept-israeli-hospitals-running-until-oct-7",
  "topic": "health",
  "section": "Health & Medicine",
  "published": "2026-08-08T12:48:24.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Jerusalem Post",
    "slug": "jerusalem-post",
    "url": "https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-904739"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "In October 2023, the Samson Assuta Ashdod University Medical Center in southern Israel faced an unprecedented wartime emergency when rockets struck the hospital during the Hamas attacks. Despite years of disaster drills, the hospital staff managed to continue treating patients under rocket fire, but critical gaps emerged in communication, logistics, staffing, and casualty distribution. Led by a doctoral candidate from Linköping University, the study published in Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness highlights the strengths and weaknesses of the hospital's response to the real-life situation. Preparedness through regular drills proved crucial, but communication breakdowns, logistical challenges, and limited information availability exposed significant gaps. The researchers recommend more centralized control over casualty distribution, missile-proof areas for less critical patients, and improved information-sharing mechanisms among hospitals, ambulance services, the military, and government agencies.",
  "summary": "The findings of an Israeli study offer practical lessons that could help hospitals worldwide prepare for prolonged armed conflicts and other large-scale emergencies.",
  "key_points": [
    "Assuta Ashdod Hospital treated patients during Oct. 7 rocket strikes",
    "Study reveals communication, logistics, staffing gaps in disaster response",
    "Recommendations include centralized casualty control and missile-proof areas"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": "https://urgent.news/ill/308342.png",
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}