A Syrian man carries his wounded daughter
A Syrian man carries his wounded daughterAFP/File

Australian Ambassador to Israel Dave Sharma and his wife Rachel visited wounded Syrians on Tuesday in the Ziv Medical Center in Tzfat.

Over the past six months Israel has taken in several Syrians who were wounded in the ongoing civil war in their country. There are currently 13 Syrian citizens hospitalized in Ziv Hospital, three of them in the intensive care unit.

Sharma’s visit was the first official visit by an international representative to Syrians hospitalized in Israel. During his visit he spoke about the recent chemical weapons attack near Damascus in which hundreds of people were killed.

“Use of chemical weapons is against ethical law as well as against international conventions. President Assad must stop the slaughtering of his people,” he stated.

A translator helped Sharma and his wife to communicate with the wounded. Among the injured they spoke to were two Syrian girls, ages 15 and 8, who they presented with gifts prepared by their own daughter.

Sharma praised the Israeli government and Ziv Hospital treating the victims. “The professionalism, dedication and compassion of the entire staff at Ziv Hospital was something to behold. It is humanity at its best,” he declared.