February 27, 2013

JERUSALEM (JTA) — Six wounded Syrian rebels that were treated in an Israeli hospital after being wounded in their country’s civil war were repatriated.

The men were released from a hospital in Safed and then returned to Syria, the Israel Defense Forces said in a statement.  The men were retuned at an undisclosed location for their own safety, according to the IDF.

A seventh Syrian requires further treatment and remains in the hospital.  

The Syrians returned to their country at their own request, Ynet reported, citing an unnamed source. The return was not coordinated with the Red Cross since it would have required coordination with the Syrian government via the United Nations peacekeeping force on the Golan Heights, which could have endangered the men, according to Ynet. 

The men were wounded Feb. 16 near Israel’s security fence with Syria in the Golan Heights during clashes between the Syrian army and rebel forces in Syria’s 2-year-old civil war. Israeli soldiers brought the Syrians to Ziv Hospital in Safed. One of the Syrians was severely wounded and the rest were injured from bullets and shrapnel, with some requiring surgery.
 

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