A group of 28 premature babies were evacuated from the largest hospital in Loop -the Al Shifa-and taken to Egypt to receive urgent treatment. Twelve of these children are in critical condition, reported the Emergency Director of the WHO in Cairo, Rick Brennan.
One group of babies will be admitted to a hospital in Arish, northern Sinai, Egypt, while another group will be transported to hospitals in Cairo. “They are all premature or born with under weight. Everybody has serious infectionswhat we would call sepsisand several of them have low body temperatures,” Brennan added.
The newborns had been at the Al Shifa hospital in northern Gaza, where several others died after his incubators will be out of service amid the collapse of medical services during Israel’s military assault on Gaza City. Five mothers of these children were also evacuated and arrived at the hospital to be reunited with their children.
Being born in Gaza is extremely dangerous
Giving birth in Gaza remains an adventure extreme risk. Nour al-Banna, mother of twinsknows it well: “I have twin daughters. I didn’t know anything about their condition. Today I saw them for the first time since the day I gave birth to them. Thank God, the doctor assured me that they were fine. I was always in communication with him Shifa hospital and they told me ‘you can come and take them because their health has improved’, but I couldn’t communicate with them. Thank God, now I am calmer about their state of health.
“We continue to describe the health situation and humanitarian as catastrophic. Our primary concern is ensuring that the people of Gaza have access to healthcare. Both the urgent healthcare for a large number of traumatic injuries as well as other essential services health services, as well as obstetric care for the 180 women who give birth every day, particularly those who need a cesarean section or have a complication in their pregnancy. Similarly, we must provide care to those with chronic diseaseshigh blood pressure, heart disease and diabetes,” says WHO emergency director in Cairo, Rick Brennan.
The plight of the babies has become one of the symbols of the devastating war between Israel and Hamas. According to Palestinian health authorities, more than 13,000 Palestinians have died in Gaza. Another 2,700 people are missing, most believed buried under rubble. Some 1,200 people have been killed on the Israeli side, mainly civilians, during the October 7 attack in which Hamas kidnapped 240 people.
Source: Antena3
