31 Premature Babies Evacuated From Al-Shifa Hospital Amid Israel-Hamas War

Amid the conflict between Hamas fighters and Israel forces, 31 premature babies were evacuated from Al-Shifa Hospital in the Gaza Strip. However, many babies were in critical condition. 

Babies are bearing the consequences of the Israel-Hamas conflict. The fears remain for their survival. The Palestine Red Crescent Society (PCRS), the humanitarian organization under the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement in the State of Palestine, has said that many babies are in critical condition. 

Dr. Muhammad Zaqout, the director general of hospitals for the Palestinian Health Ministry, told the media, “They were 39. Eight of them died.” They were pronounced dead before they could be rescued on Sunday. The babies were transferred to the Al-Helal Al-Emirati Maternity Hospital for treatment.

Al-Shifa hospital, the deathpoint

Al-Shifa, the largest hospital in Gaza, has become a deathpoint for people amid the war. The Israeli military has claimed that the hospital is being used by Hamas fighters as a shield for its offensive against Israeli forces. 

A joint United Nations humanitarian assessment team visited the Al-Shifa hospital on Wednesday. According to a statement from the World Health Organization (WHO), the team described the hospital as a “death zone.”

According to Palestinian authorities, many premature babies have died due to power outages and a shortage of medical supplies at the hospital.

Babies at great risk amid the Israel-Hamas conflict

The 31 evacuated babies from the Al-Shifa hospital are now in the southern Gazan city of Rafah. According to the WHO, very few of the infants are accompanied by their parents and family members. 

The authorities were not able to find close family members of the babies. The babies are currently fighting serious infections at the Rafah hospital. Out of 31 babies, 11 babies are in “critical condition.”

UNICEF (United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund) has warned that the babies’ condition is “rapidly deteriorating.” 

Last month, the President of the United States, Joe Biden, said that he saw “confirmed pictures of Hamas terrorists beheading children.” He said that Hamas beheaded 40 babies. A spokesperson for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that 40 babies were found near a kibbutz in southern Israel with their “heads decapitated.”