Israel Matzav

More on Daniel Viflic HY"D (may God avenge his blood)

On Sunday night, I reported on the death of Daniel Viflic, the 16-year old who was hit by an anti-tank missile while riding a school bus in the Gaza envelope ten days ago. Here's some more about Daniel's final hours.

Chief of Pediatric ICU at Soroka Medical Center, Professor Shaul Sofer, said: "Unfortunately Daniel passed away this afternoon. We were not surprised by his passing – he arrived in critical condition, and within a short time his brain stopped functioning.

"Because of the sensitive nature of the case, we continued to give him the best medical care, although objectively we knew that his brain would not recuperate," he added.

According to Sofer, "Daniel arrived at the hospital without blood pressure, after being resuscitated. He suffered from shrapnel that penetrated his brain, and had subsequently stopped breathing, which prevented oxygen from reaching his brain."

Sofer added that after receiving the initial brain scans it was clear that he suffered a critical injury that was irreversible.

Hundreds of people attended Daniel's funeral on Sunday night in the outskirts of Beit Shemesh.

"It's hard to believe he's not here. I thank all those who came and all the support from the religious and seculars alike, even from Arabs and Bedouins. It’s not thanks to us, it's because Daniel was an exceptional child," his father Yitzhak said.

Benny Chen, who knew the family from the time they lived in Hong Kong said: "The father met the mother in Hong Kong where she converted to Judaism and made aliyah out of love for the Land of Israel. They came here to set up a family and raise their children in Israel. Daniel and his sister were their only children.

"They managed to fit in well with the local community [Ramat Beit Shemesh. CiJ], they were quiet and loved by all. The boy Daniel was not meant to be on the bus. He came to visit his grandmother, slept over and the driver who knew him asked to take him for a ride. A ride from which he never returned.”

Zion Yemini, the driver of the school bus which was hit was devastated to hear the news of Daniel's death. "This is very bad news, I so hoped he would stay alive," Yemini said Sunday.

May Daniel's memory be blessed and may he be a straight advocate for his family and friends.

Labels: Cornet anti-tank missile, Daniel Viflic, Gaza envelope, Palestinian terrorism, school bus attack

posted by Carl in Jerusalem @ 1:01 PM