120+ newborns in Gaza in incubators at risk as 'Israel' cuts fuel
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This comes as the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced that 10 hospitals were now out of service due to deliberate targeting and fuel shortages.
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A newborn is seen inside an incubator at the neonatal intensive care unit at al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza on April 23, 2017. (AFP)
According to the UN Children's Agency, at least 120 newborns in incubators in Gaza's hospitals are in jeopardy as fuel runs out in the besieged city.
According to the Palestinian Health Ministry on Saturday, the Israeli occupation committed 550 massacres against families in the Gaza Strip, resulting in the martyrdom of 3,353 members of these families since the beginning of the aggression.
The statement confirmed the martyrdom of 51 health personnel and the injury of 87 others with various injuries. It also announced that 10 hospitals and 25 health centers have become out of service due to deliberate targeting and fuel shortages.
The statement also confirmed that hospitals in the Gaza Strip ran out of resources, considering the lack of the most basic emergency medical supplies, including fuel.
According to UNICEF Spokesperson Jonathan Crickx, "We have currently 120 neonates who are in incubators, out of which we have 70 neonates with mechanical ventilation, and of course this is where we are extremely concerned."
On its part, the Palestinian Ministry of Health announced that the number of Palestinians martyred in the Israeli aggression on Gaza has risen to 4,741, in addition to 15,898 wounded as a result of the ongoing Israeli occupation aggression against Gaza for the 16th day in a row.
The Ministry of Health called on gas station owners and anyone who has any amount of diesel to donate it to hospitals in an attempt to save the lives of the wounded amid the tightened Israeli siege of the Strip.
Ministry of Health Spokesperson Ashraf al-Qudra said not providing hospitals with fuel will cause serious complications that will kill 1,100 patients with kidney failure, including 38 children.
He added that medical teams confirmed that the Israeli occupation is using unusual weapons that caused severe burns on the bodies of the martyrs and the wounded.
Yesterday, the Palestinian Health Ministry also warned the hospitals in the Gaza Strip exceeded their capacity by 150%, forcing them to set up multiple tents to accommodate a large number of injuries.
Regarding the aid that entered the besieged Strip on Saturday, the Ministry said, “The entry of a limited number of trucks constitutes only 3% of what was entering the Gaza Strip daily in terms of health and humanitarian needs before the aggression,” stressing that it is minimal compared to what was entering the Gaza Strip daily, which exceeded 600 trucks per day.
Speaking about the kind of aid, it indicated that bringing medical aid into the Gaza Strip is essential if it meets the emergency needs in the different emergency departments, intensive care units, and operating rooms of all Gaza Strip hospitals.
In the same context, the Ministry explained in its statement that excluding all kinds of fuel from the humanitarian aid allowed in “will jeopardize the lives of the sick and wounded and put life-saving services at risk.”
1,000 needing dialysis will be at risk
According to the WHO, over 1,000 individuals who require dialysis will be at risk if the generators fail.
"If they (babies) are put in mechanical ventilation incubators, by definition, if you cut the electricity, we are worried about their lives," a UNICEF spokesperson told AFP.
According to the UN Population Fund, around 160 women give birth in Gaza every day, with an estimated 50,000 pregnant women across the 2.4 million-person region.
"Israel" claims it directly targets Hamas, yet children make up a majority of the over 4,000 Palestinians killed in Gaza.
Whole families have been wiped out and numerous pregnant women have been killed, with their unborn children unable to be saved.
On its part, the United Nations Agency for Palestinian Refugees said Sunday that 29 of its staff had been killed in Gaza due to the ongoing Israeli aggression on Gaza.
"We are in shock and mourning. It is now confirmed that 29 of our colleagues in Gaza have been killed since October 7," UNRWA wrote on X, formerly Twitter, after having released a death toll of 17 staffers on Saturday.
We are in shock and mourning.
— UNRWA (@UNRWA) October 22, 2023
It is now confirmed that 29 of our colleagues in📍#Gaza have been killed since October 7.
Half of these colleagues were @unrwa teachers.
As an Agency, we are devastated. We are grieving with each other and with the families. pic.twitter.com/TPTdUAAjg3
Meanwhile, while AFP correspondents relayed that 17 aid trucks have crossed the Rafah border passage today for the second day in a row, from Egypt into Gaza, our correspondent revealed that the convoy was stalled as the Red Crescent has not yet delivered it to the Palestinian side, amid continued Israeli bombing and blockade.
These trucks follow the first 20 trucks carrying medical aid, food, and water crossed into Gaza - bringing the total amount of aid trucks to just 37 - while the United Nations estimates that around 100 trucks per day are required to suffice the needs of Gaza and its people.
Al Mayadeen's correspondent in Cairo reported last week that approximately 100 trucks carrying 1,000 tonnes of humanitarian aid are waiting to enter from Egypt into the Gaza Strip.
