Gaza: Newborns at the Al Shifa Hospital — the largest healthcare facility in Gaza — are being wrapped in foil and placed next to hot water in a desperate bid to keep them alive, Al-Araby TV reported Monday, citing a senior official.
According to the Gaza Health Ministry, the death toll of infants increasing with time as they have no more required medical aid.
Two of Gaza’s biggest hospitals have shut operations due to intense Israeli bombing in the vicinity, leaving hundreds of people dead and injured.
According to the report, staff at the Al-Shifa Hospital were fighting to keep the newborns alive after oxygen supplies ran out and they had to move the babies by hand from the neonatal unit’s incubators to a different part of the hospital.
“I was with them a while ago. They are now exposed because we have taken them out of the incubators. We wrap them in foil and put hot water next to them so that we can warm them,” Dr Muhammad Abu Salmiya said.
The doctor’s concerns were confirmed in images showing several newborn babies who were taken off incubators at the hospital clustered helplessly together and placed in one bed.
Six premature babies and nine patients have died since electrical shortages began affecting al-Shifa Hospital several days ago, Gaza’s Health Ministry told AFP news agency.
WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has warned of a “dire and perilous” situation in Gaza’s hospitals, saying more patients, including premature babies are “tragically” dying.
Gaza’s two largest hospitals, Al-Shifa and al Quds have both closed. Israeli snipers continue to fire at anyone near Al-Shifa Hospital, trapping thousands inside.
More than 11,100 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli attacks on Gaza since October 7, although the number has not been updated since contact was lost with key hospitals on Friday.
