JERUSALEM, Feb. 1 (JTA) A Turkish girl who survived that country’s devastating earthquake in August has reunited in Israel with members of the Israeli army team that rescued her.
Alif Gondoz, 11, spent four days trapped beneath rubble in the city of Cinarcik before the rescue team reached her.
Gondoz, who lost all of her immediate family in the quake, arrived in Israel this week accompanied by two aunts to continue her rehabilitation. She will be fitted with an artificial foot and will undergo physical therapy.
Gondoz was brought to Israel by the American Jewish Joint Distribution Committee, which has provided ongoing humanitarian aid to earthquake victims in Turkey. Later this month, the JDC will bring another quake survivor to Israel for rehabilitation.
Ami Bergman, director of JDC projects in Turkey, said the organization is also involved in the construction of a school in Adapazari, which was struck by an earthquake in November, and in a project in coordination with the Tel Aviv municipality and Turkish authorities to build a model for providing support services in emergency situations.
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