Lives of 36 babies in Al Shifa hospital in Gaza still endangered

(Patria) - The lives of 36 babies in Al Shifa hospital in Gaza are hanging by a thread, local medical staff announced, stating that there is no clear mechanism for their transfer despite Israel's efforts to supply them with incubators for evacuation.

Three of the original 39 premature babies have already died since Gaza's largest hospital ran out of fuel for the generators that maintained their incubators over the weekend.

The Gaza Strip has been under a complete Israeli blockade since Hamas launched an attack on Israel on October 7. An Israeli ground offensive has since led to fighting in the streets around the hospital in Gaza City in the north of the Strip.

All 36 babies, weighing less than 1.5 kilograms, and some as little as 700 to 800 grams, are now lying next to each other on ordinary beds, exposed to infection and without any individual adjustments to humidity and temperature levels, staff said.

- Fortunately, there are still 36 of them left, we haven't lost any of them overnight. The risks, however, are still great, there is still a risk of losing them - surgeon Ahmed El Mokhatallali told Reuters, by phone from Al Shifa.