Pvt. Stephen Griffin, 21, of Golway, Ireland, who died in a Haifa hospital yesterday of wounds he received during a skirmish in south Lebanon 10 days ago, bequeathed a gift of life to two Israelis. At the request of his parents, his kidneys were donated for transplant.
The recipients, Mariam Khatib, a 16-year-old Arab high school girl from a village in Galilee, and Mordechai Liebovitz, a 37-year-old Jewish salesman from Haifa, both suffering from kidney ailments, were rushed to Rambam Hospital where surgeons successfully performed the two transplant operations shortly after Griffin died.
The young Irish soldier was a member of the Irish contingent of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNFIL) which clashed with Maj. Sood Hoddad’s Christian militias on April 7. Severely wounded, he was flown to Rombam Hospital and placed in an intensive care unit. He died after nine days without regaining consciousness.
It appeared, meanwhile, that Ireland may withdraw its 700-man force from UNIFIL. Foreign Minister Brian Lenihan told the parliament in Dublin that this was under consideration and the commanding officer of the unit has apparently requested it.
Relations between UNIFIL and Hoddad’s militias remain tense despite efforts by Israeli officers to normalize the situation. The militia has imposed what amounts to a siege of UNIFIL positions. Soldiers of the international force on leave in Israel have been unable to return to their units.
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