A 12-year-old Syrian girl was secretly evacuated to Israel last week for urgent heart treatment and has since made a full recovery, Rambam Medical Center in Haifa revealed on Thursday.
The girl was transferred from southern Syria by the Israel Defense Forces in coordination with the “Yitro – Jews for Druze” organization, which also funded her hospital care.
She arrived at Rambam Medical Center’s Ruth Rappaport Children’s Hospital in critical condition and underwent a life-saving heart procedure in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit.
Her condition rapidly improved, and she was discharged four days later. She returned to southern Syria earlier this week, where she reunited with her father.
The girl was accompanied throughout her hospitalization by her mother. Her identity and the precise nature of her condition were not disclosed, due to the sensitivity of the operation.
“This complex and moving humanitarian effort could not have been possible without the IDF,” said Amnon Bartal, chairman of the Yitro organization. “We’re also deeply grateful to the medical staff at Rambam for their professionalism and compassion. We remain committed to medical excellence and saving lives.”
This case is the latest example of Israeli hospitals treating civilians from conflict zones across the border, particularly from Syria.
Last month, neurosurgeons at Ziv Medical Center in Safed saved the life of a six-year-old Syrian girl who was shot in the head while playing outside her home.
The child had undergone initial surgery at a Syrian hospital, but her condition worsened. She lost the ability to speak and suffered paralysis on the left side of her body.
In a desperate bid to save her, the girl’s family turned to Israel. Escorted by the IDF, her grandmother brought her across the border to Ziv Medical Center.
“The doctors there treated her like their own daughter,” the grandmother said. “Without them, she would not be alive.”
Dr. Samuel Tobias, head of neurosurgery at Ziv, said the child’s condition has significantly improved and that doctors were preparing for the next stage—surgery to insert a skull implant to support her recovery.
“We saw a little girl, not a nationality,” he said.