Hague expresses condolences to Viflic family

Daniel Viflic, 16, was critically injured after Hamas fired an anti-tank missile hit at a school bus in the Negev; laid to rest in Beit Shemesh.

By JUDY SIEGEL-ITZKOVICH, JPOST.COM STAFF
School bus anti tank attack 311 (photo credit: Baz Ratner/Reuters)
School bus anti tank attack 311
(photo credit: Baz Ratner/Reuters)
British Foreign Secretary William Hague on Sunday expressed his condolences over the death of Daniel Raphael Viflic, the 16-year-old who was critically wounded in an anti-tank missile attack on a school bus in the Negev by Hamas terrorists 11 days ago.
"Daniel was just 16. The tragedy of his death is brought home all the more in that it occurs on the eve of Passover, normally a time of celebration for Jewish families all over the world," Hague said.
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Viflic passed away after a steady decline in his condition. He was laid to rest at the Beit Shemesh Cemetery late Sunday night."I would like to extend my deepest sympathies to Daniel's family," Hague continued. "And I reiterate my utter abhorrence of the cowardly attack which cost him his life, and my call for an end to all such attacks on innocent civilians."
The missile hit the bus moments after most of the children got off, while it was traveling near Kibbutz Sa’ad, about 2.5 km. from Gaza. Just two people were on the bus when it was hit – the driver, who was lightly injured, and the boy, who was en route to visit his grandparents.
Viflic, who was traveling from his home in Beit Shemesh, suffered severe head trauma and was rushed to Soroka University Medical Center in Beersheba, where he was treated in the pediatric intensive care unit.
On April 12, the severity of his condition was downgraded to extremely critical and doctors expressed concern that he had suffered irreparable brain damage.
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu called Viflic’s parents to express his condolences.
The “entire nation is grieving with you. Israel will not rest until it brings to justice the murderers who attacked Daniel,” Netanyahu told the parents.
Herb Keinon contributed to this report.