Wounded Gaza civilians treated in Israel

7-year-old suffering head wounds from IAF strikes rushed through Erez crossing to Petah Tikva.

By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH
wounded Gazan child 248 88 gpo (photo credit: GPO)
wounded Gazan child 248 88 gpo
(photo credit: GPO)
A seven-year-old Gaza boy who suffered a serious head wound in Israel's retaliatory air strikes was rushed through the Erez Crossing and taken to Schneider Children's Medical Center in Petah Tikva on Wednesday. The boy, whose transfer was facilitated by the Peres Peace Center, was in critical condition in the intensive care unit on Wednesday night. Physicians for Human Rights-Israel, which favors the transfer of Gaza civilians hurt in the bombings, said the Palestinian Authority is unwilling to pay for their medical care in Israel because Hamas is responsible. The PHR-Israel has urged the PA to facilitate such transfers immediately and argue later about who would finance the treatment to save their lives. Three wounded children had been transferred during the past two days via the Erez Crossing, with help from UNRWA. Twenty Gazans suffering from serious illnesses unrelated to the fighting were allowed through on Wednesday for treatment in Israeli hospitals. Meanwhile, Magen David Adom director-general Eli Bin put his organization on the highest level of alert on Wednesday. MDA staffers and volunteers are now manning 600 ambulances around the clock to help those wounded by Gaza rockets. Vehicles that had been garaged in reserve for emergency use were taken out of storage. The breadth of activity is unprecedented for the organization, MDA said. In addition, MDA has begun teaching first aid to teachers in shelters in the settlements and cities targeted by Hamas, as schools in the targeted areas have been closed. The basic two-hour courses teach how to stop bleeding when a person suffers external hemorrhaging; how to use a shirt or sheet as a bandage; how to treat people who suffer burns, smoke inhalation and head, chest and abdominal wounds; and how to open victims' airways. Over 100 kindergarten and school teachers took the courses on Wednesday.