Palestinian boy bitten by snake gets treated by IDF medics
Parents bring child to army base near Jericho, where soldiers provide first aid before rushing him to a nearby hospital
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleIlan Ben Zion is an AFP reporter and a former news editor at The Times of Israel.
A Palestinian boy was bitten by a snake near the West Bank city of Jericho on Friday and received treatment from IDF paramedics.
The boy’s parents rushed him to a nearby army base after he was bitten, and he received first aid from army medical personnel before being handed over to a Palestinian ambulance, the Palestinian Ma’an news agency reported.
The city of Jericho, in the Jordan Valley just north of the Dead Sea, is under Palestinian Authority administration. The IDF coordinated the boy’s transfer to the PA-controlled area, where an ambulance took him to a local hospital.
The boy was reported to be in stable condition and remained conscious throughout.
The IDF couldn’t immediately provide more information about the incident.
Most of the 40 or so species of snakes indigenous to Israel are not poisonous, though three are dangerous to humans: the Palestinian viper, the black adder and the mole viper, according to Hadassah Hospital.
Local vipers, Vipera palaestinae, are the most common poisonous snakes found in Israel. They grow to an average length of 90 centimeters (36 inches) and are mainly nocturnal. Their venom contains a hematoxin that damages blood circulation and the lymphatic system. They generally feed on small rodents, toads, and birds.
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