Thanks to a program that works to build healthier peaceful international relationships, 16 Palestinian children are now able to hear after being given cochlear implants by Israeli doctors.

The Peres Center For Peace coordinated the 16 successful surgeries over the course of the last year at the Hadassah Ein Kerem Hospital. Six of the surgeries occurred last month in "marathon style" back-to-back operations.

"This is an amazing project that gives these children the opportunity to step out of their world of silence and live their lives normally and fully," the project's leading surgeon Dr. Michal Kaufmann told YNet News.

"These children couldn't speak prior to the surgery, they were bereft of any supporting environment, uncommunicative. The surgery opened up their world, the ability to communicate and spread their wings… We are happy to have been able to contribute to such a dramatic change in their lives."

Can You Hear The Love Tonight? Click To Share (Photo by ReSurge International, CC)