Seven Syrians wounded in the battles currently raging in the country's southwest, among them five children, have received emergency medical treatment in Israeli hospitals in recent days.
Two children, aged 6 and 7, were hospitalized in critical condition due to shrapnel wounds at Galilee Medical Center in Nahariya in northern Israel. A badly wounded 14-year-old boy was in stable condition, and two adult men, 19 and 28, were also in critical but stable condition.
The 7-year-old girl, suffering extensive upper body injuries, was hospitalized in critical condition at Rambam Medical Center in Haifa.
At Sheba Medical Center at Tel Hashomer, in central Israel, doctors were fighting to save the life of a 10-year-old girl with multiple organ failure. The girl was hospitalized last Wednesday, June 27, and is still in critical condition.
"The wounds are characteristic of shrapnel injuries to the brain, chest, stomach and limbs," said Dr. Masad Barhoum, director of the Galilee Medical Center.
"The medical teams are working around the clock to save the children's lives," he said.
Meanwhile, amid mounting violence in Syria, Israeli doctors continued to perform lifesaving heart procedures on Syrian children in Israel. On Sunday, a 3-month-old baby from Syria with a severe heart defect underwent surgery at Hadassah Medical Center in Jerusalem. At Sheba Medical Center, a 20-month-old toddler was waiting for heart surgery, while an 11-year-old girl who underwent successful surgery last week has already returned to Syria.
The complex and expensive heart procedures are funded by private donations and by the Peres Center for Peace, based in Jaffa. In June, nine Syrian children with congenital heart defects underwent surgery in Israel.
"Our partnership with hospitals makes it possible for us to treat the children," said Suha Atrash, who runs the Peres Center's Saving Children program.
Chemi Peres, chairman of the Peres Center, added: "I'm proud that the Peres Center brings wounded and sick Syrian children to Israel and saves their lives. This is the true face of Israel, a moral country that will always extend a hand in peace and to save a life."
