31 Premature Babies At Gaza’s Biggest Hospital Have Finally Been Evacuated To A Hospital In The South
The babies had been trapped without food, water and electricity inside the hospital, which Israel had laid siege to for days before raiding on Nov. 15.
31 premature babies that had been inside Al-Shifa, Gaza’s largest hospital, have finally been safely evacuated to a hospital in the south of Gaza near the border with Egypt.
The babies were evacuated in a joint operation by the World Health Organization, the Palestinian Red Crescent and the United Nations agency in Palestine on Sunday Nov. 19.
The babies had been trapped without food, water and electricity inside the hospital, which Israel had laid siege to for days before raiding on Wednesday Nov. 15, along with thousands of medical staff, patients and civilians.
Eight premature babies died due to lack of power and medicine before they could be evacuated, Palestinian health officials said.
Dr. Mohammad Zaqout, the director general of hospitals for the Palestinian Health Ministry said that the babies had undergone “great harm” during the days they were trapped in the hospital.
He said some of them remained in critical condition, with one on a ventilator, while others had sepsis and severe inflammation.
The director general of hospitals for the Palestinian Health Ministry, said they would be stabilised in Rafah before being taken to hospitals in Egypt.
He said that doctors at the hospital in Rafah discovered that even the water that was used to make the infants’ baby formula was polluted because sanitation was not available.
It resulted in vomiting, diarrhea and weight loss for the babies, who lost weight instead of gained weight.
Zaqout said the babies will be stabilized at the Tal Al Sultan hospital before they are taken to hospitals in Egypt.
Hundreds of other patients, staff and civilians were forced to evacuate Al-Shifa on Saturday.
