WHO speaks of “death zone”
31 premature babies rescued from Al-Shifa Hospital
November 19, 2023, 4:38 p.m
Israel suspects that Al-Shifa Hospital is a command center for the Islamist Hamas. The Israeli army has been operating on the premises of the clinic for several days, although it still houses 300 patients. After all, 31 premature babies are brought to safety.
All 31 remaining premature babies were rescued from Al-Shifa Hospital in the city of Gaza. This was announced by the health authority controlled by the radical Islamic Hamas and the Red Crescent in the Palestinian territory. Accordingly, the premature babies were transferred in ambulances to the south of the Gaza Strip. The aim is to transfer them to a hospital in Rafah, near the Egyptian border, said the general director of hospitals in the Gaza Strip, Mohammed Zakut. The babies would be accompanied by “three doctors and two nurses.”
The Israeli army has been operating on the site of the largest hospital in the Gaza Strip for several days. Israel accuses the Islamist Hamas of using the clinic complex for terrorist purposes and of operating a command center under the buildings. On Saturday, hundreds of people left the hospital complex on foot towards the southern Gaza Strip.
The World Health Organization (WHO) described the clinic as a “death zone” after an hour-long visit by WHO staff. According to the information, water, electricity, medicine and medical equipment as well as food are missing. The WHO therefore wants to work with partner organizations to prepare an immediate evacuation of the approximately 300 remaining patients. They are expected to be taken to Nasser Hospital and the European Hospital in the Gaza Strip in the coming days.
Hit school?
On Saturday, two attacks hit targets in the Jabalia refugee settlement in the north of the Gaza Strip. According to the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health, the UN-run Al-Fakhura school, which is used as a refugee shelter, and another building were hit. “At least 50 people” were killed in the attack on the school, and 32 members of a family in the attack on the other building.
Footage shared online shows bodies covered in dust and blood at Al-Fakhura school, where mattresses were spread out under school desks. The authenticity of the video recordings has not yet been confirmed. The Israeli army said Israeli soldiers had advanced into the areas around Jabalia and Seitun in the north of the Gaza Strip. They have received “reports of an incident in the Jabalia region” and are currently investigating them.