A premature baby died after the neonatal intensive care unit of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza was forcibly closed, where electricity was cut off due to the Israeli armed forces’ siege in response to the October 7 attack. This was announced by the Israeli humanitarian organization Doctor for Human Rights-Israel.
“In the last few hours we have received terrible reports from Al Shifa hospital – No electricity, no water, no oxygen. Some medical personnel fled due to a real threat to their lives; leaving hundreds of sick and injured patients without care or means of escape. Currently, approximately 15 thousand internally displaced people are in the hospital, as well as hundreds of patients and medical staff.” According to the organization, “ Military bombings damaged the intensive care unit and the only generator that remained operational so far. “We can report that the neonatal intensive care unit has stopped functioning due to the power outage.” One newborn has already died “and there is a real risk to the lives of the other 37 babies born prematurely,” adds Ong.
Tel Aviv denied laying siege to the hospital, the largest in the Gaza Strip, but admitted that clashes were ongoing around the medical facility with Hamas and Islamic Jihad militants, the two main perpetrators of the October 7 attack. The Palestinian Ministry of Health has a different view: Al-Shifa is “completely surrounded” by Israeli tanks and neither patients nor medical staff can leave the facility due to the risk of being hit.
Head of the hospital’s surgery department, Dr. A version also confirmed by Marwa Abou Saada and quoted by the British NGO Medical Aid to Palestinians: “No one can leave the hospital – she said – People trying to escape were hit by gunfire. Gunshots were heard. Some died, some were injured.” Doctors Without Borders also paints the same picture: “Our personnel in the field report that people trying to leave the hospital are being targeted under gunfire,” the organization writes in its statement.
Yassine Lafram, president of Ucoii, the union of Islamic communities in Italy, made an appeal to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni: “In Gaza, Palestine, Unicef reports that more than 120 premature babies are at risk of death. There are no more in incubators in the heat” , we read in a note. Lafram concludes: “I appeal to Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni to do everything possible to save these innocent children by transferring them to our hospital ship sent by Minister Crosetto.” “As a mother, she can understand the desperation of mothers in Gaza.”
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Source: Today IT
Karen Clayton is a seasoned journalist and author at The Nation Update, with a focus on world news and current events. She has a background in international relations, which gives her a deep understanding of the political, economic and social factors that shape the global landscape. She writes about a wide range of topics, including conflicts, political upheavals, and economic trends, as well as humanitarian crisis and human rights issues.
