Updates: 

Thursday  February 14:  Today, as his mother stood by his bedside, Osher Twito improved significantly. He regained consciousness and is breathing on his own. His condition has been upgraded to moderate. 

Wednesday, February 13: The Jewish Agency continues to watch Osher's progress. As of Wednesday morning, February 13, Osher and his older brother Rami were in stable condition at Sheba Hospital in Tel HaShomer. Osher is being kept on a respirator and is still unconscious.  His doctors are trying to save his right leg from amputation and they plan to operate again this week.

Sderot is one of 40 communities on the Gaza perimeter that continues to suffer from the daily onslaught of Kassam attacks.  At the writing of this update, Palestinians in the Gaza Strip had just fired a Kassam rocket that landed within the Sha'ar HaNegev region.

Miracles don't last forever and they ran out a little over a week ago  on February 9th. The left leg of 8 year-old Osher Twito, a participant in the Jewish Agency Youth Futures program, was severed when a Kassam missile struck nearby.

He had gone to the local ATM machine to withdraw money to purchase a birthday present for his father. His older brother Rami Twito, aged 19, was also wounded in the attack. The two were severely to critically injured in the Kassam barrage that struck Sderot during the Shabbat. They were originally hospitalized at Barzilai Hospital in Ashkelon, but given the severity of their wounds, they were transferred to Tel Hashomer Hospital in Ramat Gan, which has experience in handling these types of injuries. They will undergo treatment, convalescence and hopefully rehabilitation there. Osher’s left leg was amputated after doctors failed in their heroic efforts trying to save it and he had been unconscious for many hours.

News that the two were wounded spread like wildfire amongst all the activists involved in the Youth Futures Project in Southern Israel. Following the initial shock, Jewish Agency personnel went into action to assist the family and all those directly involved. First and foremost they contacted Tami Betito, the Youth Futures counselor who was responsible for Osher within the framework of the program. In a domino effect of acts of kindness, anyone directly to remotely involved in the project pitched in, including the Director General of the Jewish Agency, Moshe Vigdor. All are committed to provide care for the boy in particular and for Sderot in general.

The Jewish Agency and its partners have been standing with Sderot since the Kassam blitz began, offering financial support through the Fund for Victims of Terror, refurbishing bomb shelters, repairing the central Sderot trauma center, providing respite for the children and youth of Sderot, and  developing other assistance programs.

YOUTH FUTURES is the first all encompassing strategy, based on a breakthrough partnership model, that targets youth at risk. Combining all available resources, YOUTH FUTURES is ensuring that every child at risk has personalized educational opportunities to fill critical gaps and put them on a level playing field. Donate now.

To learn more about Youth Futures, click here.

To find out more about Osher Twito and the situation in Sderot, visit ynet.