Doctors at Rambam Medical Center in Haifa are considering leaving a bullet that penetrated the chest of an Israel Defense Forces soldier in his heart.
The soldier is one of six IDF reservists who were wounded from heavy gunfire during an overnight raid in southern Syria on Nov. 27-28 to apprehend operatives from the Jaama al-Islamiya Sunni terrorist organization.
“After a rapid consultation, we unanimously decided to leave the bullet in place,” said Dr. Gil Bolotin, director of the hospital’s cardiac surgery department, Ynet reported on Sunday.
“We succeeded in stabilizing him, and today he is already recovering and communicating with those around him. As we move forward, we will determine how to continue the treatment. We may need to operate again to remove the bullet from the heart, or we may choose to do so with a catheterization, and it is certainly possible that the bullet will remain where it is,” the physician continued.
Catheterization entails a thin, flexible tube called a “catheter” being inserted into the body.
Bolotin said the reservist was rushed to the operating room after he was shot “to stop the bleeding and stabilize his condition,” Ynet reported.
“The surgery was complex and challenging, and involved opening the chest both from the side and from the center in order to stop the source of the bleeding. The bullet passed between the walls of the heart, perforated them, and came to a stop there.”
Two soldiers from the raid who were admitted to the hospital in serious condition are in intensive care units, under close observation, and their condition is defined as stable, Ynet reported.
The raid in the Beit Jinn area in Syria targeted terrorists planning attacks against Israelis, the IDF said.
At least 13 terrorists were killed, according to the report. The wanted terrorists were arrested and taken to Israel for questioning.
It was the first time since the fall of the Assad regime that Israeli forces sustained injuries in combat in Syrian territory.
After the collapse of the regime in December 2024, Israel seized control of parts of southern Syria, expanding a security zone and maintaining a military presence amid ongoing clashes and airstrikes.
Blue and White Party leader Benny Gantz, a former IDF chief of staff and member of the War Cabinet, told JNS on Monday that military operations in southern Syria should continue “until we have some kind of agreement.
“I do think we should, and probably can, reach some kind of security agreement with the Syrian administration, but nevertheless, following October 7, we must make sure that there is no threat of potential invasion along our borders,” continued the opposition lawmaker.
“That includes the border at the Golan Heights. I recently toured that area and I’m sure that this is very important,” Gantz told JNS at the Knesset.
