March 1, 2026 – The first 24 hours of Operation Lion’s Roar are now behind us. Rambam Health Care Campus (Rambam)—the largest hospital in Northern Israel—has undergone an event of extraordinary magnitude during this period: a transition from a major tertiary medical center, like leading hospitals worldwide focused on delivering advanced patient care, to a vast underground medical facility operating under extreme emergency conditions.

The Fortified Underground Emergency Hospital (FUEH) is the largest of its kind in the world, capable of accommodating up to 2,000 patients under full protection from missile fire. It also serves as a strategic national asset, receiving patients from other regional medical centers that lack sufficient fortification.

Within just 11 hours, with assistance from Israeli Navy and the Home Front Command, 700 Rambam patients were relocated to the FUEH from unfortified departments across the campus. An additional 100 patients have already been transferred from Fliman Geriatric Hospital, along with approximately 80 patients from Carmel Medical Center in Haifa. Today, 80 patients from another unprotected hospital in the region, together with dialysis patients from Assuta Hospital, will be relocated to the underground hospital.

Preparations for a dedicated daycare center for the children of Rambam employees within the underground hospital are being finalized, and the center will open on Monday.

Rambam stands together, prepared and ready for the challenges ahead.

Watch a video of patients being transferred to Rambam