It was Sunday morning that the complicated rescue operation started. Then the tiny children were wrapped tightly and placed in ambulances. The Al Shifa hospital, which is the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip, is now surrounded by Israeli soldiers and is missing most of its equipment. The incubators, which many of the prematurely born babies depend on, have been disconnected for the last few days due to a lack of electricity. Eight babies have already died. The doctors feared it was hours or days for those who were still alive. Together, the UN and aid organizations decided to try to save the 31 babies. First by transporting them to hospitals in the south of the Gaza Strip and then over to Egypt, where the authorities said they were willing to help. The operation was described as extremely dangerous. The babies were followed by three doctors and two nurses on the dangerous road south. Last evening and night, the group was taken care of by doctors at a hospital south of the Gaza Strip. Got warmth and food According to the doctors, the condition of the babies is from moderate to serious. – What they all had in common was that they had low blood sugar, acutely low temperature, low blood percentage, and that they are malnourished. The situation was bad, says Mohammad Salama, who is head of the neonatal intensive care unit at the Al Emirati hospital. It is not far from the border crossing between the Gaza Strip and Egypt, and is run by the Emirati Red Crescent. At the hospital, the 31 babies received heat treatment, fluids and milk. – We tried to stabilize them, Salama says to journalists with whom news collaborates inside Gaza. He praises the colleagues at the Al Shifa hospital, who, despite the lack of electricity, medicines and working medical equipment, managed to save 31 out of 39 babies. – They have made an indescribable effort to keep them alive, says Mohammad Salama. The doctor Mohammad Salama was one of those who received the babies when they arrived at the hospital in the south of the Gaza Strip. Had to flee from newborn twins Ismail Yasin is the father of two of the incubator babies. Two tiny little twin girls. – Borna was born on 11 October 2023, a few days after the war broke out, he says. Together with his wife, he fled to southern Gaza. The babies remained at Al Shifa Hospital. Recently, the parents have not known how the children were doing. It was particularly difficult when the Israeli army entered the hospital. – We were very worried. We had no contact. We could not go to Al Shifa to see how they were doing. Only yesterday we managed to check their condition. – Thank God that they managed to evacuate them, says the father. Now he is relieved that his own daughters and the other babies will receive further help in Egypt. At least 28 babies have been transported across the border to Egypt. Photo: JEBRIL ABU KAMIL / news Rolling over the border On Monday morning, the babies were packed up once more and transported in ambulances to the border crossing. The babies were placed in mobile incubators, wheeled across a large car park, before being taken into Egyptian ambulances and transported to the El Arish hospital, 45 km away west of the Gaza Strip. There are 28 of the babies who have been taken to Egypt. According to the head of the World Health Organization, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, three of the children will receive further treatment at Al Emirati, while 12 of those who were taken across the border have already been flown to hospital in the Egyptian capital, Cairo. The operation was described as extremely dangerous. Photo: Jebril Abu Kamil / news All the parents are unknown Ahmad Al-Chaer, who is a doctor at Al Emirati together with Mohammad Salama, says that they know the identity of all but one of the children. – We have received a child from Al Shifa hospital whose identity we do not know. There is a boy who is injured after his house was bombed. We don’t know if his family is alive or not, says Al-Chaer. Through mediums, they have tried to notify the families that the premature babies were evacuated from Al Shifa hospital and are receiving treatment at other hospitals, in the hope that they will survive. The World Health Organization has called the Al Shifa hospital a “dead zone”, as there is not enough water, food, electricity or medical equipment to keep the hospital in operation. Israel claims they have found a 55 meter long tunnel under the hospital which should belong to Hamas. This is rejected by the hospital management, the Ministry of Health and Hamas itself. In an earlier version of this case, a picture of Ismail Yasin was mistaken for another person. This is now correct.
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28 incubator babies have been allowed to cross the border into Egypt – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
