Thirty Premature Infants Evacuated from Al Shifa in Gaza

• 30 premature infants evacuated in Gaza.
• Discrepancies reported at Shifa Hospital; Israel alleges Hamas presence.
• Airstrike hits U.N. shelter; convoy attacked during evacuation.

Over 30 premature infants were successfully evacuated from Gaza’s primary hospital on Sunday, with plans for their transfer to medical facilities in Egypt, as stated by the territory’s Health Ministry spokesperson, Medhat Abbas, during a phone conversation with The Associated Press.

The evacuation took place amidst ongoing Israeli military operations at Shifa Hospital, confirmed by a World Health Organization (WHO) team that visited the facility on Saturday.

Discrepancies in the reported numbers emerged, as the WHO team initially mentioned 32 babies among the critically ill patients, while later reports from the team indicated 291 patients left at Shifa.

The patients included infants in extremely critical condition, trauma patients with severe infections, and individuals with spinal injuries unable to move.

Despite the evacuation challenges, the WHO team managed to tour Shifa Hospital for an hour after the departure of approximately 2,500 displaced people, mobile patients, and medical staff on Saturday morning, leaving 25 medical staff members and remaining patients within the compound.

As of now, there has been no immediate clarification on the numerical discrepancy from the WHO.

“Patients and health staff with whom they spoke were terrified for their safety and health, and pleaded for evacuation,” the agency said, describing Shifa as a death zone. It said it hopes to evacuate patients to southern Gaza, where hospitals are also overwhelmed.

Israel has consistently claimed that Hamas operates an extensive command center both inside and beneath Shifa Hospital, presenting the hospital as a strategic target in its campaign to end Hamas rule in Gaza.

This follows Hamas’s incursion into southern Israel six weeks ago, which sparked the ongoing conflict. Despite these allegations, Hamas and hospital staff vehemently deny them.

Israeli troops, stationed at the hospital and conducting searches, assert that they have discovered firearms and other weapons, even pointing out the entrance to a tunnel shaft.

The Associated Press, however, could not independently verify these findings.

The mass departure of individuals from the hospital compound on Saturday was characterized by Israel as voluntary, but the World Health Organization (WHO) contradicts this, stating that military-issued evacuation orders were given, and some who left described it as a compelled exodus.

In a separate incident in northern Gaza, numerous casualties were reported in the densely populated Jabaliya refugee camp due to what witnesses described as an Israeli airstrike on a crowded U.N. shelter on Saturday.

“The scenes were horrifying. Corpses of women and children were on the ground. Others were screaming for help,” Ahmed Radwan, who was among the wounded, said by phone. AP photos from a local hospital showed more than 20 bodies wrapped in bloodstained sheets.

The Israeli military, which has repeatedly called on Palestinians to leave northern Gaza, said only that its troops were active in the area “with the aim of hitting terrorists.” It rarely comments on individual strikes.

Heavy clashes were reported in the Jabaliya camp overnight into Sunday. “There was the constant sound of fire, gunfire and tank shelling,” Yassin Sharif, who is sheltering in a U.N.-run hospital in the camp, said by phone. “It was another night of horror.”

A residential building near the town of Khan Younis in southern Gaza was struck by an Israeli airstrike on Saturday, resulting in the death of at least 26 Palestinians, as reported by a doctor at the hospital where the bodies were taken.

According to Doctors Without Borders, an international aid group, a marked convoy of their staff members and their families attempted to evacuate northern Gaza on Saturday but turned back after shots were fired at a crowded Israeli checkpoint.

While returning to Gaza City, the convoy came under attack, resulting in the death of a family member of one of the staffers. The party responsible for the attack was not immediately clear.

Palestinian health authorities report that over 11,500 Palestinians have been killed, with another 2,700 missing and believed to be under rubble.

The count does not distinguish between civilians and combatants, while Israel claims to have targeted thousands of militants.

On the Israeli side, around 1,200 people, mainly civilians during Hamas’ October 7 attack, have been killed.

This includes the dragging of approximately 240 captives back into Gaza by the group. The military reports 52 Israeli soldiers killed.

Hamas has released four hostages, one was rescued by Israel, and the bodies of two hostages were found near Shifa in an area of heavy fighting.

Negotiations involving Israel, the United States, and Qatar (which mediates with Hamas) have been ongoing for weeks regarding a hostage release.

On Saturday, a senior White House official suggested the completion of the release before the entry of much-needed aid on a large scale.

“A release of large number of hostages would result in a significant pause in fighting … and a massive surge of humanitarian relief,” Brett McGurk, the White House’s National Security Council coordinator for the Middle East, said at a conference in Bahrain.

A significant majority, over two-thirds, of Gaza’s 2.3 million population have evacuated their residences. The UN agency for Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, is delivering essential services to hundreds of thousands of individuals seeking refuge in schools and other designated facilities.

During the weekend, Israel granted permission for UNRWA to import sufficient fuel, enabling the continuation of humanitarian operations for a few more days.

This allowance also extends to maintaining internet and telephone systems. UNRWA had faced a pause in aid operations on Friday due to a communications blackout.

At the onset of the conflict, Israel ceased all fuel imports, resulting in the shutdown of Gaza’s sole power plant and the majority of water treatment systems.

Consequently, most residents are now without access to electricity or running water.

Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said Saturday that Israel’s forces were expanding operations in Gaza City. “With every passing day, there are fewer places where Hamas terrorists can operate,” he said, adding that the militants would learn that in southern Gaza “in the coming days.”

His statements provided the most explicit indication yet that the military intends to extend its offensive to southern Gaza, the area where Israeli authorities advised Palestinian civilians to seek refuge.

The evacuation zone is already densely populated with displaced civilians, and it remains uncertain where they would relocate if the offensive advances closer.

Despite the warnings of a broadening offensive, Israel continues to be in disagreement with its primary ally, the United States, regarding the course of action for Gaza in the event of successfully removing Hamas from power.

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stated on Saturday that the Israeli military would have “full freedom” to operate within Gaza after the conflict, suggesting a potential temporary reoccupation of the territory from which soldiers and settlers were withdrawn in 2005.

In a published op-ed in The Washington Post on Saturday, U.S. President Joe Biden proposed the reunification of Gaza and the West Bank, governed under a “revitalized Palestinian Authority,” while global leaders pursue a solution leading to the creation of a Palestinian state alongside Israel.

Netanyahu’s government strongly opposes the idea of Palestinian statehood.

[embedpos slug= “philippines-earthquake-claims-8-lives-tragedy-strikes/”]

To stay informed about current events, please like our Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/BOLUrduNews/.
Follow us on Twitter https://twitter.com/bolnewsurdu01 and stay updated with the latest news.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel https://bit.ly/3Tv8a3P to watch news from Pakistan and around the world.