31 premature babies were transferred to Al-Shifa Hospital

The written statement made by the Palestinian Red Crescent stated that the Red Crescent’s emergency services teams, in coordination with the World Health Organization and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), were able to evacuate 31 premature babies from Al-Shifa Hospital.

The statement stated that the premature babies were transported to the south by Palestinian Red Crescent ambulances, to be admitted to the Emirates Hospital in the city of Rafah, the southernmost part of the Gaza Strip.

Yesterday, the Israeli army forcibly transferred all the displaced Palestinians and most of the patients from Al-Shifa Hospital out of the hospital.

Muhammad Abu Salamiya, director of Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, said in his statement that the evacuation process for the hospital began after the expiry of the one-hour deadline given by the occupation army to patients, wounded, displaced persons, and medical teams to leave the hospital.

Abu Salamiya stated that they met with United Nations officials for patients and premature babies residing in the hospital that was evacuated by the Israeli army.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus also reported yesterday that Al-Shifa Hospital had run out of water, food, fuel and medical supplies and was no longer able to provide service.

Ghebreyesus had requested support to evacuate patients and called for a ceasefire “in this unfortunate situation and in view of the condition of patients, including infants.”