Israel has informed Ukraine that it is prepared to receive Ukrainian children with cancer who were left homeless after the Okhmatdyt Hospital in Kyiv, where they were being treated, was bombed on Tuesday by Russia. Israel is now awaiting a response from Ukraine. If the children do come to Israel, they will be admitted to the Sheba Medical Center.
Ukrainians taking refuge in Kyiv underground following Russian attack
(Video: Reuters)
The exact number of children to be transferred to Israel has not yet been determined, and it will depend on their medical condition and diagnosis. The offer was conveyed to the Ukrainians by Israel's Ambassador to Ukraine, Michael Brodsky.
"The embassy has a long history of cooperation with the affected hospital," Brodsky said on wednesday. "At the beginning of the war, several children with oncological diseases who were hospitalized there were evacuated to Israel for treatment. I thank the Sheba Medical Center for its willingness to help. Israel has a reputation as a country with a big heart, and we are doing everything to maintain that reputation."
The world reacted with shock to the scenes of numerous sick children injured Tuesday by a Russian missile strike on Kyiv's largest children's hospital. In a widespread Russian attack on various cities in Ukraine, more than 40 people were killed, at least 20 of them in Kyiv. Many of them were killed in the missile strike on the hospital.
The West sharply condemned Russia for the attack. According to various reports, at least four children who were hospitalized in the hospital died when part of the building collapsed. There are fears of additional people trapped under the rubble. Children were injured, and dozens had to be evacuated from the facility, with no immediate solution or equipment to help them. It is not yet entirely clear how many hospitalized children were affected by the attack; according to some reports, most of the patients managed to escape the building due to the alarms and were saved. Other reports indicate that many patients were in the building that was bombed. Some of the hospitalized children were receiving dialysis treatments there.
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A frightened Ukrainian child in the Okhmatdyt Hospital in Kyiv
(Photo: Roman PILIPEY / AFP)
The Russians denied their missile hit the hospital, claiming the hospital was hit by a Ukrainian missile. However, intelligence in Ukraine and senior UN officials clarified that all findings show that the hospital was directly hit by a Russian missile.
"The Israeli embassy has long-standing ties with the Okhmatdyt Hospital. At the beginning of the war, the embassy delivered medical equipment to the hospital, their doctors visited Israel, our doctors came and advised online. The embassy is exploring the possibility of assisting in the rehabilitation of the heavily damaged hospital. I also spoke with the Sheba Medical Center," Brodsky told Ynet: