海角大神

The West Galilee Hospital in Nahariya is no stranger to war. Located only six miles聽south of the Lebanese border, it took a direct missile hit during the 2006 conflict with Hezbollah. But the Syrian war has聽pervaded聽these halls and wards in a much more personal way: through wounded Syrians, who are picked up at the border and brought here by the Israeli military for free treatment

Since the first two Syrian patients arrived nearly a year ago, the hospital has treated more than 220 Syrians, out of around 600 who have been brought to Israel. About a third of those treated in Nahariya have been children, some of whom arrived unconscious or unaccompanied by a relative.

鈥淪omething explodes and next thing, they open their eyes in a foreign country, and everyone is speaking Hebrew,鈥� says Dr. Tsvi Sheleg, the hospital鈥檚 assistant director general. 鈥淭hey are in an enemy country 鈥� that鈥檚 how they see it.鈥�

Israel聽has a tradition of聽offering humanitarian assistance in war zones and natural disasters around the world, even where it is not particularly welcome. But treating Syrians, whose country is still officially at war with Israel, is not only a logistical miracle but an extraordinary exercise in humanity trumping hate.

"It's important as a human being to be able to help others as a human being. I thank my government 鈥� that gives us the opportunity to help each other," says Director-General Masad Barhoum, who oversees the government hospital. "They are human beings. I don't believe that anyone in this hospital believes they are enemies."

The Syrian patients generally come to a similar conclusion.

鈥淎t first they were frightened ... they thought we would harm them and torture them,鈥� says Yoav Hoffman, senior physician in the pediatric intensive care unit, which has treated about 25 children, ranging in age from a few months to 17 years old. 鈥淭hen after a few days they understood what we were doing and they didn't want to leave.鈥�

Hospital staff don鈥檛 know whether they鈥檙e treating civilians or soldiers, and they say they鈥檙e not sure whether the Israeli army knows either. Some patients offer their own accounts, though there is no way of verifying them.

Dr. Jean Sustiel in the neurosurgery department says one man claimed he had been a bodyguard of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad but decided to switch sides and fight with the rebels. But his fellow rebels began to suspect him of being an Assad spy and shot and wounded him.

鈥淗e didn鈥檛 want to go back because he was wanted by both sides,鈥� says Dr. Sustiel. 鈥淪o he wanted to be transferred back to Jordan.鈥�

The doctors say they know little to nothing about how the Syrian patients are picked up and transferred back to the border, a process that is handled by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF). But there appears to be significant cross-border communication involved, potentially mediated by United Nations forces stationed along the border, especially since doctors say some children arrived alone and the IDF was able to track down a relative and bring them to the hospital within a short time.

Some analysts have speculated that such channels of communication may also be helping Israel to keep the more extremist jihadi and salafi groups in Syria away from its border.

But for doctors at the West Galilee Hospital, the mission聽is detached from聽geopolitics.聽

In Dr. Hoffman鈥檚 unit, a 3-year-old girl stands quivering on a table as her father embraces her. Both were injured in what he says was a cluster-bomb attack in Deraa, the southern city roughly 25 miles from Israel where the uprising began three years ago. He breaks down in tears as he tells of the attack, in which the girl鈥檚 twin brother was killed, but manages to add, 鈥淭he treatment here is really excellent.鈥�

But the doctors and staff say it鈥檚 not just about offering medical care. They also bring clothes, toys, and games from their own homes to give to the Syrian patients, including dolls and teddy bears for the children. One girl wanted so badly to see the Mediterranean Sea that the hospital worked with the Israeli military to bring her west to the beach before heading back east to the border.聽

The hospital鈥檚 willingness to help has brought in heartfelt letters and donations from Muslims in Israel and the US. One mosque in nearby Acre sent $1,000 collected during prayers, and individual American Muslims have written to thank the hospital for helping when Arab countries have done so little, says Amir Yarchi of Friends of the Western Galilee Hospital, who heads up fundraising efforts.

鈥淲hen you think about the extent of casualties in Syria 鈥� we are dealing with one drop in the ocean,鈥� says Sustiel. 鈥淏ut there is an old Jewish saying 鈥� when you have saved one soul you have saved an entire world, so this is what we hope we are doing.鈥�