39 newborns fight for life in incubators as missiles drop

Staff at Al-Shifa Hospital has been posting videos online of bombing around the complex. Pic/Getty Images

Deputy Health Minister Youssef Abu Alreesh on Saturday said that there are 39 newborn babies in incubators inside the Al-Shifa Hospital - the largest medical facility in the Hamas-controlled enclave - which is currently being attacked by the Israel Defense Forces (IDF), media reports said.

"We have 39 newborns in the incubators. Those babies are fighting against death. We are totally stranded, cut off from the outside world and are left without any medical resources. We cannot even bury the dead," Alreesh told news agencies.

He said that this is the moment they have been warning the whole world of, all generators are off, all power sources are out. "No one is able to move around the compound, snipers are stationed all over the place in addition to the drones that target and kill any moving person," Alreesh said.

He said that 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," the Deputy Health Minister said. He said that the Israeli killing machine was on a rampage, and this was conveyed on TV screens.

The hospital director said that the medical complex has been completely cut off and any moving person is being targeted by the Israeli forces. Alreesh said he is "speaking with whatever is left of my phone battery and after this we will be silent".

Meanwhile, the Palestine Red Crescent Chief has told the UN Security Council that Gaza hospitals are being deliberately targeted to force civilians out of Gaza. There have been reports of Israeli attacks near the Al-Shifa Hospital, with staff and authorities posting online videos appearing to show heavy bombing in the area surrounding the complex.

A World Health Organization (WHO) spokesperson said Friday that al-Shifa was "coming under bombardment", adding that 20 hospitals in the Gaza Strip were "out of action".

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