A baby died in an incubator at Gaza largest hospital after the facility lost power, and another was killed by an Israeli bullet while in intensive care, a spokesman for the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
The Israeli military, which residents said had been fighting Hamas gunmen throughout the night in and around Gaza City where the hospital is located, did not immediately respond to questions about Health Ministry spokesman Ashraf Al-Qidra’s comments.
“The situation is worse than anyone could have imagined. “We are surround inside the Al Shifa Medical Complex, and the invaders have targeted most of the buildings inside,” said Qidra, who represents the health ministry in Hamas-ruled Gaza.
The Israeli military said that Hamas militants who rampage through southern Israel last month had place a command center. Under the Al Shifa hospital and others in Gaza, making them vulnerable to being considere military targets.
“Hospitals need to be evacuate to confront Hamas. “We intend to confront Hamas who have turned hospitals into fortified positions,” he said when asked if they planned to enter hospitals in Gaza someday.
Hamas denies using civilians as human shields and health officials say a growing number of Israeli attacks on or near hospitals are endangering patients, medical staff and thousands of refugees sheltering in and near their buildings.
Qidra said Israeli army snipers commandeering rooftops near the hospital occasionally fired into the medical complex, limiting the ability of medics and people to move.
The Israeli military did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
The hospital stopped operations after the fuel ran out, Qidra said, adding: “As a result, one newborn died in the incubator, where there were 45 babies.”
Hamas denies using the hospital for military purposes and has asked the UN and the International Committee of the Red Cross to send a mission to Shifa to investigate Israel’s allegations.
39 Babies at Risk
The Palestinian Health Ministry, based in the Israeli-occupied West Bank – separated from Gaza by Israel and run by the rival Hamas government – said separately that 39 babies were at risk in hospitals.
Minister Mai Alkaila initially said they died because they didn’t get oxygen or medicine and there was a power outage, but the ministry later corrected the information to say that one person had died and 39 people were in danger.
“39 premature babies at the Al-Shifa Medical Complex are at risk of dying at any time, and one of them died this morning. Failure to bring fuel to the hospital would be a death sentence for the rest. The incubator will only be able to work until tonight, after which the fuel will run out.”
When contacted again regarding the ministry’s statement, Qidra reiterated that there was no electricity and no internet at the hospital.
“We are working hard to keep them alive, but we are afraid we will lose them in the next few hours,” he said. “There is no electricity at all in the hospital.”
On Friday, Gaza officials said a missile landed in the Al Shifa courtyard, killing one person and wounding another. The Israeli military later said that a misdirected projectile launched by Palestinian militants in Gaza had hit Shifa.
World Health Organization Director General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said health workers the group contact in Shifa were force to leave the hospital to seek safety.
“Many of the thousands of people sheltering in hospitals were force to evacuate due to security risks, while many remain there,” Tedros wrote on social media on Friday.
Read More : 6 Interesting Experiences at the American Museum of Natural History
