Six premature babies dead as Gaza’s hospitals attacked by Israel

Six premature babies dead as Gaza’s hospitals attacked by Israel
By Jurgen Balzan -November 13, 2023 9:19 AM

see also the video: https://twitter.com/i/status/1723476855666180401

World Health Organisation director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has warned of a “dire and perilous” situation in Gaza’s hospitals, saying more patients, including premature babies, are “tragically” dying.

Although attacking medical facilities in war is considered illegal under international law, Israel has been bombarding and shelling hospitals in Gaza with complete impunity. Israel’s campaign to eliminate Hamas has killed at least 11,078 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s health ministry.

Over the weekend, Gaza’s two largest hospitals, al-Shifa and al-Quds, have both closed down as Israeli snipers continued to fire at anyone near al-Shifa Hospital, trapping thousands of displaced people inside.

Gaza’s Health Ministry has said that two patients and a premature baby died in al-Shifa Hospital on Monday.

Yousef Abu al-Rish said the new deaths brought the toll to six premature babies and nine patients since electrical shortages began affecting the hospital several days ago.

Last week, the al-Shifa hospital said that 39 babies in the neonatal intensive care unit, were at imminent risk of losing their lives as the hospital ran out of fuel to power their incubators, allowing for warm temperatures and a constant flow of oxygen.

The hospital has been under siege and a target of fierce Israeli attacks

Moreover, three nurses have been killed at Al-Shifa Hospital since Friday amid Israeli bombardment and clashes near the complex, the UN relief agency in the occupied Palestinian territory said in its latest update on Sunday.

“The world cannot stand silent while hospitals, which should be safe havens, are transformed into scenes of death, devastation, and despair,” Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said in a post on X, adding that Al-Shifa was “not functioning as a hospital anymore."

Northern Gaza’s Kamal Adwan Hospital was also forced to shut its operation as its main generator ran out of fuel due to the Israeli blockade.

Hamas denied that it refused the fuel and said the hospital was under the authority of Gaza’s health ministry.

Al-Shifa Hospital director Muhammad Abu Salmiya rejected the Israeli statement as “propaganda”.

“Israel wants to show the world that it is not killing babies. It wants to whitewash its image with 300 litres of fuel, which barely lasts 30 minutes,” Abu Salmiya told Al Jazeera.

More than half of the 35 hospitals in Gaza are no longer operational amid Israel’s bombardment and ground operations in the enclave, which were launched in response to Hamas’s October 7 attacks on southern Israeli communities.