Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu greeted the returning IDF aid delegation from Nepal. Photo: IDF Spokesperson via Twitter.

The Nepalese Ambassador to Israel, Prahlad Kumar Prasai, awarded a certificate of appreciation to the members of the Israeli aid delegation in Nepal, who for the past month have been aiding earthquake victims in the devastated country.

“In the name of the Nepalese people, I thank the members of the delegation for the life-saving medical assistance they offered to the victims,” Prasai said in a statement published by the Israel Rescue Organization. “The Israelis were among the first to aid us and sent the largest number of volunteers – all in our most difficult hour. We greatly appreciate this,” he added.

The Israeli delegation – at 260-strong, the second-largest to be sent to Nepal – included 122 doctors, nurses, and Magen David Adom (MDA) paramedics operating at a medical facility set up in Kathmandu to provide medical care for the victims.

In a separate show of gratitude, Prasai thanked the MDA – the Israeli Red Cross – during a special meeting with the organization’s director Eli Bein last week.

“I know MDA, its history, and its work,” Prasai said during the meeting. “Thank you for what you did in Nepal – for the aid, the donations, and means of protection for the population, and for your willingness to help and care for the Nepalese people during this difficult time.”

Bein responded by pledging to donate four ambulances to the disaster-stricken country, promising that the organization would continue to assist Nepal in the future, and called on Prasai to aid those efforts.

“Our aid mission to Nepal was carried out in close collaboration with the Nepalese authorities, the international Red Cross and the local population,” MDA spokesman Zaki Heller told Tazpit News Agency. “We asked the Ambassador to help us overcome the bureaucratic hurdles in getting the ambulances to Nepal, as well as in organizing further humanitarian aid projects, such as food distribution.”