Israeli military opens coronavirus unit in converted garage

The Israeli military on Sunday opened a new coronavirus unit in a converted parking garage of a hospital in northern Israel, in a first-of-its-kind effort by the army to assist the country's overloaded healthcare system.

The unit, set up at Haifa's Rambam Healthcare Campus, will see some 100 military doctors, nurses and other medical personnel working alongside hospital staff.

It is the first time the army has deployed its medical personnel to treat Israeli civilians in the country's history.

Rambam set up the underground hospital unit in the wake of Israel's 2006 war against the Lebanese militant group Hezbollah, allowing it to convert the garage into a functioning hospital insulated from rocket fire.

After appearing to contain its coronavirus outbreak early this year, Israel reopened its economy too quickly and the virus quickly turned.

Israel, a country of nine million people, is now grappling with one of the world's worst outbreaks, with over 290,000 cases reported so far.

It currently has over 850 serious cases, straining the nation's health care system, and nearly 2,000 deaths.

Defense Minister Benny Gantz, a former military chief of staff, visited the hospital Sunday to see the new coronavirus unit.