Two premature babies died before Gaza evacuation – UN

Two premature babies from Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza died before the evacuation of 31 others, the UN said on Tuesday.

According to the UN, most of the premature babies who reached Egypt for medical attention were “unaccompanied”.

The UN’s World Health Organisation (WHO) helped evacuate 31 premature babies from Gaza City on Sunday.

WHO said that the evacuation was a result of the hospital becoming “a death zone”.

Twenty-eight of those babies arrived in Egypt on Monday.

The WHO warned that they were all “fighting serious infections and continue needing health care”.

The other three babies moved from Al-Shifa hospital to another hospital in southern Gaza and have their families with them.

WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday that Al-Shifa hospital was caring for 33 premature babies the evening before the evacuation.

“Two of these premature infants died only on that night because of the lack of care available to them,” he said.

Those who crossed into Egypt unaccompanied were either orphans or had parents who could not cross the border, spokesman of UNICEF James Elder said.

“It all underlines the horrific situation for families in Gaza,” he added.

Israel’s relentless bombing campaign and ground offensive in Gaza killed more than 13,300 Palestinians, including 6,000 children.