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Gaza teen treated for burns in Israel
Palestinian boy, 15, admitted to Kaplan Hospital in serious condition. Israel believes injuries caused by rocket launching pad; boy's father claims he was hurt in IAF drone strike
A 15-year-old Palestinian boy was rushed to the Kaplan Medical Center in Rehovot on Wednesday, after suffering serious injuries, allegedly from a rocket launching pad set up in the northern Gaza neighborhood of Jabalya.
The boy was admitted to the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit with severe burns and shrapnel injuries to his pelvis, abdomen, chest and extremities. He was also diagnosed as suffering from a lung injury and a lacerated liver.
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A team of pediatric specialists has been assigned to his case. Dr. Eli Shapiro, deputy-director of the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit said the boy was in stable condition.
"The boy was admitted after receiving initial care in Gaza Strip. He underwent abdominal surgery and was transferred here on respiratory support.
"While assessing the trauma, we discovered he was suffering from other injuries as well, which we treated in the Trauma Room. He is sedated and on respiratory support, but his condition is stable," Dr. Shapiro said.
'No dilemma'
According to the hospital, the boy's transfer was coordinated between the Kaplan administration and the Palestinian Authority.
"There was never a dilemma," Dr. Shapiro said. "We have many patients from Gaza. We treat any child who comes here, regardless of where he is from. We're doctors – we give everyone the proper medical treatment and we treat everyone equally."
The boy's father said he was grateful for his son's treatment: "The doctors and nurses here saved his life. They are treating my son with the utmost dignity and care and I'm grateful for that."
The circumstances of the boy's injuries, however, are murky. Israeli sources said that the boy was injured after he got too close to a rocket launching pad set up in Jabalya, but his father claims he was wounded in an IAF drone strike on the Sudaniya neighborhood in Gaza.
The boy's father claims his son was walking home from school with his friends when a drone missile hit them. "One of the children was killed and my son is in critical condition. Five others were hurt but not seriously."
The man added that his son was transferred to Kaplan Medical Center after he was hospitalized in the Shifa Hospital in Gaza for two days.
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