BICOM

Fifteen Syrians wounded in the internal Syrian conflict were admitted to Israel for medical treatment over the weekend, marking a new high in the numbers of Syrian casulaties treated in Israel. There has been 123 Syrians taken in by Israel at the border and treated in Israeli hospitals since the start of the Syrian conflict, with over 100 of them coming since February this year, according the Times of Israel. The issue has prompted Israel to set up a field hospital on its border with Syria to treat less serious cases, with only the more serious cases being admitted to Israeli hospitals. Dr. Yaakov Ferbstein, the director of Poriya hospital in Tiberias, told Israeli Channel 10 News on Sunday evening that, “This hospital makes no distinction about who the wounded are or where they come from. We give the best care possible to all injured patients.”

Reports of increasing numbers of casualties seeking treatment in Israel comes amidst news of the growing humanitarian catastrophe, which has displaced huge numbers of Syrians and forced many to flee the country. Up to 20,000 Syrians have crossed the border into Iraqi Kurdistan since Thursday, when the border was opened up after a period of limited access. They join hundreds of thousands of refugees who have flooded into Syria’s neigbouring countries, with a particular strain being put on Lebanon and Jordan.