PALESTINE – Alarming developments in Gaza have prompted the evacuation of dozens of premature babies from Al Shifa Hospital to Egypt.
On Monday, 28 premature infants, previously struggling for survival at Al Shifa Hospital, safely crossed the Rafah crossing into Egypt. This evacuation follows an Israeli attack on another medical center in Gaza, resulting in 12 fatalities.
The UN team executed the evacuation of 31 premature babies, consisting of 15 girls and 16 boys, from Al Shifa on Sunday. The hospital has faced a collapse of services due to a severe lack of fuel. Upon reaching Rafah, three babies remained behind – one due to unidentified parents and another because consent forms were not signed.
A doctor who accompanied the babies expressed frustration, stating, “There are only four mothers among the parents travelling with their babies. I am so tired of this situation. It’s unbearable.”
Tragically, four other babies lost their lives in the past week as Israeli forces besieged the Al Shifa Hospital complex, which they stormed on November 15.
The Indonesian Hospital in northern Gaza is now also under siege, trapping approximately 650 patients and 5,000 displaced individuals as tanks and snipers surround the building.
Ashraf Al Qudra, spokesman for the Gaza Health Ministry, accused Israeli forces of pushing the Indonesian Hospital into a “circle of death.”
The hospital, allegedly hit by artillery and sniper fire, raising concerns about a potential rise in the death toll. The loss of crucial medical capabilities further compounds the crisis.
Mr. Al Qudra warned, “If this hospital falls, then it will become a massive graveyard.” The Indonesian Hospital, currently the only partially operational medical institute in the northern part of Gaza, faces an increasingly dire situation.
