As Israel claims to be fighting Hamas near Gaza’s biggest hospital, medical professionals scramble to save newborns.
The director of the Gaza’s biggest hospital has issued a warning: as Israeli artillery bombards the surrounding streets and the facility’s remaining fuel reserves run out, premature babies are being wrapped in foil and placed next to hot water in a desperate attempt to keep them alive in “catastrophic” conditions.
The newborns at the Al-Shifa hospital were forced to be manually moved from their incubators in the neonatal unit to another area of the hospital when oxygen supplies ran out, and staff members were fighting to keep the babies warm and alive. CNN was informed by an Al Arabiya network reporter inside the hospital that people were trapped there because they were too afraid to leave because of the intense fighting.
“Water, food, and milk for infants and kids are no longer available. CNN was informed on Monday by Dr. Muhammad Abu Salmiya, the medical center’s director, that “the situation in the hospital is catastrophic.”
Pictures show multiple newborns who were removed from hospital incubators and arranged in a single bed.
In light of Israel’s relentless bombardment and blockade of Gaza, an already impoverished and densely populated territory, in the wake of the October 7 attack on its territory by Hamas militants, the doctor told Al Araby TV on Sunday that several children had died in the intensive care unit and the nursery over the past two days.
The Israeli military denied firing at the northern Gaza medical center and rejected claims the facility is under siege, telling CNN on Saturday that its forces were involved in “ongoing intense fighting” with Hamas near the hospital complex.
Al-Shifa hospital and Hamas officials have refuted Israel’s repeated claims that there is a Hamas command center beneath the facility. Additionally, the Israeli military has charged Hamas in the past with infiltrating civilian infrastructure. CNN is unable to unbiasedly confirm the claims made by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF).
By candlelight, at work
Inside Al-Shifa, a freelance journalist reported finding dozens of unburied bodies, ambulances unable to transport injured people, and life support systems without electricity. The journalist reported late on Saturday that people inside were beginning to drink pipe water, food was being rationed, and medics were working by candlelight.
“We barely have cell lines but no internet, so communication is very bad and almost impossible for us to report what is happening in the hospital and its yards,” he said.
“No one is allowed to move or dare to leave the hospital. The staff is aware that there are numerous strikes going on around the hospital; we can see smoke rising from these strikes and know that people are staying in some of those buildings. However, ambulances are not allowed to leave the hospital because, in the last few days, one of them was struck while leaving.
Al-Shifa hospital’s director, Abu Salmiya, told CNN that 7,000 internally displaced people were making a valiant effort to take up residence among the hospital’s 1,500 patients and medical personnel.
Because there is no electricity in the hospital, Abu Salmiya told Al Araby TV that “whoever needs surgery dies, and we cannot do anything for him.” The hospital’s operating rooms are all out of commission.
He remarked, “Now that the injured come to us, we can only provide them with first aid.”
According to the WHO, Al-Shifa has been without electricity for three days. It stated, “Unfortunately, the hospital is no longer operating as a hospital.”
The critical care unit, pediatric department, and oxygen equipment were not operating, according to Dr. Ashraf al-Qidra, the spokesman for the Gaza health ministry, which is under Hamas control. He made this announcement over the weekend.
Israeli-Palestinian conflict death toll during the previous 15 years
As of Nov. 10, authorities on both sides reported that the most recent violence had resulted in over 1,200 deaths in Israel and at least 11,025 in Gaza.
Al-Shifa is not by himself. The Palestine Red Crescent Society declared on Sunday that Al-Quds Hospital, another significant building in Gaza City, was not operating. The second-largest hospital in Gaza, according to the PRCS, is “no longer operational.” The lack of fuel and power outage are the reasons for this service interruption.
Over 11,000 people have been killed by Israeli airstrikes, including 3,027 women and 4,506 children, according to the most recent data available, which was released on Friday by the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Ramallah. The ministry gets its data from the area that is controlled by Hamas.
Hospitals, water systems, bakeries, and other businesses that depend on electricity have closed as a result of Israel’s blockade on fuel and other necessities entering Gaza, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Türk, declared on Wednesday that Israel and Hamas had both committed war crimes during the previous month.
“They will perish if they are left behind.”
Medical personnel at Al-Shifa have rejected an IDF evacuation order, according to Dr. Munir Al-Bursh, the director-general of the Hamas-controlled health ministry, who made this announcement on Monday. They cited concerns that about 700 patients would perish if they are left behind.
“The patients are the issue, not the doctors. And the issue is that there are 700 patients involved; if they are left behind, they will perish, and if they are moved, they will pass away en route,” Al-Bursh told CNN on Monday.
While some of the displaced individuals and their families have already started to leave, the doctors have not responded as of yet.
Al-Bursh claims that no international humanitarian organization, including the International Red Cross, is involved in the evacuation order’s coordination. Many of the patients are in critical condition and will die in transport, so the lack of coordination raises questions about the safety and viability of transferring so many patients, he said.
Regarding Al-Bursh’s claim that the IDF has given the order to evacuate the hospital, CNN has asked for a response from the IDF.
The IDF declared earlier on Monday that the northern Gaza residents’ evacuation corridor was now open. The majority of patients at the northern Gazan hospitals Al-Nasr and Al-Rantisi Pediatric had been evacuated, according to IDF spokesman Lt. Col. Richard Hecht on Sunday.
In a Sunday interview with CNN, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated that there is “no reason” why patients at Al-Shifa cannot be evacuated. Netanyahu claimed to CNN that Israel is assisting patients by building ground-level corridors and that “roughly” 100 people have already been taken out of the hospital.
It is not possible for CNN to independently confirm if anyone has been able to leave.
The fact that CNN has previously shown Palestinian civilians killed by Israeli strikes in the vicinity of evacuation zones highlights the fact that safety for civilians in the densely populated Gaza Strip has not been ensured by evacuation zones or IDF warning alerts.
International demands for a ceasefire are growing as world leaders put increasing pressure on Israel due to the rising number of civilian deaths, and large crowds of people participate in pro-Palestinian demonstrations in cities all over the world. However, Netanyahu restated to CNN on Sunday that “one in which we have our hostages released” is the only ceasefire he would tolerate.
According to Israeli military estimates, Hamas is holding 240 civilian men, women, and children hostage in Gaza. Only four hostages have been freed by the militant group: an American mother and daughter, two elderly Israeli women, and an Israeli soldier, according to Israeli forces.
According to army spokesman Rear Adm, Israeli forces extended their ground operation in Gaza on Sunday by penetrating deeper into Gaza City.
During a press conference, Daniel Hagari stated. The perimeter of the Gaza-based al-Shati refugee camp, which is close to the Al-Shifa hospital, was reached by infantry and combat engineering forces, according to Hagari. Army forces, working with the Navy, raided the Gaza marina area while they were there, and they are currently in the eastern areas.
Argument over the fuel offer
Despite placing 300 liters of fuel at the entrance to the Shifa hospital complex, the Israeli military claimed on Sunday that Hamas had prevented the hospital from using it. According to Abu Salmiya, Al Araby TV’s staff was too afraid to go get it.
According to Abu Salmiya, “we informed the Israeli army that the 300 liters of fuel they offered is not enough to operate the hospital for 30 minutes.” On Monday, he stated that the hospital had requested 600 liters of fuel per hour from the IDF in order to run its generators, but the IDF had not yet replied.
Soldiers were seen delivering the jerry cans to a curbside location close to the hospital entrance, according to a video released by the IDF. It also made public an audio clip allegedly featuring a hospital representative accusing a health ministry leader of Hamas leadership for blocking its collection.
According to Abu Salmiya, the collection had been hindered by the existence of Israeli tanks.
He continued, “We want every drop of fuel, but I told (the IDF) that it should be sent through the International Red Cross or through any international institution. Of course, my paramedic team was completely afraid to go out.”
Claiming that the Israeli fuel delivery was a publicity stunt, Hamas rejected the accusations.
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