39 Babies Facing Risk Of Death In Al Shifa hospital: Palestinian Health Ministry (image: Pixabay)

The Palestinian Health Ministry said on Saturday that 39 babies are at risk of death in Al Shifa hospital, Gaza’s largest hospital complex, as operations are suspended due to the lack of power and fuel. They also suffer from the need of oxygen and medicine.

The hospital complex, the largest Palestinian enclave, currently shelters patients, displaced people and medical staff. As per the reports the hospital is under total siege surrounded by Israeli soldiers and Hamas militants. They are not only run out of power and fuel, but also water, food and telecommunications.

“We are minutes away from imminent death,” Al Jazeera quotes Muhammad Abu Salmiya, Director of  Al-Shifa Hospital as saying. He adds that they lost a baby in the incubator and young man in the intensive care unit. Gaza Deputy Health Minister Dr Youssef Abu al-Reesh, who is currently inside besieged facility, told that all generators have gone and all power sources are dead in the hospital, Al Jazeera reports.

“We have 39 newborns in the incubators, those babies are fighting against death,” Minister said. He also adds that since Israeli snipers are placed around the building, people are not able to move around freely.

“Ferocious gunfire can be heard within the vicinity of the hospital, the intensive care unit received a mortar shell a few minutes ago … Blood is everywhere, on the floor, we cannot even clean it,” Mr Abu al-Reesh added.

As the Israel-Hamas war enters Day 36, according to the Gaza Health Ministry, more than 11,070 Palestinians, have been killed since October 7, and according to Israel over 1,00,000 Palestinians have fled southwards in the last two days. Considering US President Joe Biden”s call, Israel agreed for a four-hour humanitarian “pauses” each day in Gaza so as to permit humanitarian aid to move into the area and enable civilians to escape from the conflict zone to south.

(With input from Al Jazeera)