ISTANBUL (AP) — Turkey's state-run news agency says American actress Lindsay Lohan has visited Syrian refugees at an Istanbul hospital and the home of a refugee family from Aleppo.

The Anadolu agency reported Monday that the 30-year-old actress was accompanied by Turkey's youth and sports deputy minister, Abdurrahim Boynukalin.

Boynukalin says media were not told about Lohan's visit ahead of time to avoid creating a spectacle and he didn't specify when it took place.

He said, "The important thing is that a Hollywood star take this matter seriously and bring it to the world stage."

Boynukalin says the star of such films as "Mean Girls" and "Freaky Friday" was moved by the hospital, which employs only Syrian doctors and treats refugees, and offered to volunteer there.

Lohan also gave gifts to the refugee family.