WHO evacuates 31 premature babies from al Shifa hospital

Gaza November 19, 2023 (QJ)-A total of 31 premature babies were evacuated from Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza along with six medical workers according to the Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Dr. Tedros Adhanom.

Tedros stated in a letter posted on X that the children, who were seriously ill, were taken to the Emirates Hospital in Rafah, southern Gaza, where they received urgent medical care.

Earlier, Egyptian government sources informed the media that more than twenty injured children had been brought to Al-Shifa. The Palestinian Red Crescent Society stated on Sunday that its teams, in coordination with WHO and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), “managed to evacuate 31 critically ill children to Al-Shifa Hospital.”

Israel targeted Shifa Hospital, the largest in Gaza, on Wednesday, where dozens of Palestinians were wounded in the conflict and medical staff were present.

Despite ongoing difficulties, the hospital staff continue to provide emergency services in the face of severe crises. A shortage of medical supplies and lack of electricity pose challenges in providing aid to the injured. Several intensive care unit patients and several children at Al-Shifa have died in recent days.

Israel alleges, without proof that Hamas established a military command center in it, a claim rejected by Hamas and hospital officials.