LIVE | Israel-Hamas War Day 44: 31 babies evacuated from Shifa, says WHO
Thirty-one premature babies were safely transferred from Gaza’s main hospital to another in the south on Sunday (November 19) and will be moved to Egypt, health officials said, as scores of other critically wounded patients remained stranded there days after Israeli forces entered the compound.
The fate of the newborns at Shifa Hospital had captured global attention after the release of images showing doctors trying to keep them warm. A power blackout had shut down incubators and other equipment, and food, water and medical supplies ran out as Israeli forces battled Palestinian militants outside the hospital.
World Health Organisation chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on social media that the “very sick” babies were evacuated, along with six health workers and 10 staff family members. He said they were taken to a hospital in the southern Gaza city of Rafah where they are receiving urgent care. They were taken in ambulances of the Palestinian Red Crescent.
A WHO team that visited the hospital on Saturday said 291 patients were still there, including the babies, trauma patients with severely infected wounds, and others with spinal injuries who are unable to move.
About 2,500 displaced people, mobile patients and medical staff left Shifa Hospital on Saturday morning, the WHO said. It said 25 medical staff remained, along with the patients.
“Patients and health staff with whom they spoke were terrified for their safety and health, and pleaded for evacuation,” the agency said, describing Shifa as a death zone.
Chaotic evacuation
On Saturday, one evacuee had described the panicked and chaotic scene as Israeli forces searched and face-scanned men among those leaving and took some away.
Israel’s military has been searching Gaza City’s Shifa Hospital for a Hamas command centre that it alleges is located under the facility — a claim Hamas and hospital staff deny. The evacuation, which Israel says was voluntary, left behind only Israeli troops and a small number of health workers to care for those too sick to move.
“We left at gunpoint,” Mahmoud Abu Auf told The Associated Press by phone after he and his family left the crowded hospital. “Tanks and snipers were everywhere inside and outside.” He said he saw Israeli troops detain three men.
Elsewhere in northern Gaza, dozens of people were killed in the urban Jabaliya refugee camp when what witnesses described as an Israeli airstrike hit a crowded UN shelter in the main combat zone. It caused massive destruction in the camp's Fakhoura school, said wounded survivors Ahmed Radwan and Yassin Sharif.
“The scenes were horrifying. Corpses of women and children were on the ground. Others were screaming for help,” Radwan said by phone. AP photos from a local hospital showed more than 20 bodies wrapped in bloodstained sheets. The Israeli military, which had warned Jabaliya residents and others in a social media post in Arabic to leave, said only that its troops were active in the area “with the aim of hitting terrorists.” It rarely comments on individual strikes, saying only that it targets Hamas while trying to minimize civilian harm.
In southern Gaza, an Israeli airstrike hit a residential building on the outskirts of the town of Khan Younis, killing at least 26 Palestinians, according to a doctor at the hospital where the bodies were taken. Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Israel's forces have begun operating in eastern Gaza City while continuing its mission in western areas.
“With every passing day, there are fewer places where Hamas terrorists can operate,” he said, adding that the militants would learn that in southern Gaza “in the coming days." His comments were the clearest indication yet that the military plans to expand its offensive to southern Gaza, where Israel had told Palestinian civilians to flee early in the war.Follow this space for more live updates:
Live Updates
- 19 Nov 2023 1:57 PM GMT
31 babies transported from Shifa to south Gaza hospital: WHO
The World Health Organisation says 31 babies have been safely transported from Shifa Hospital to another hospital in southern Gaza.
The evacuation took place on Sunday, and the babies are to be transferred to a third hospital across the border in Egypt.
They were among scores of critically ill and wounded patients stranded at Shifa after Israeli forces fought their way to the hospital and entered it last Wednesday. (AP) - 19 Nov 2023 1:56 PM GMT
Tens of thousands rally in Pakistan
Tens of thousands of supporters from Pakistan's main religious political party rallied in the eastern city of Lahore on Sunday against Israel's bombing of Palestinians in Gaza and what it said is the world's failure to protect Gazans.
Amid anti-Israeli and anti-American slogans the emotionally charged crowd also called for jihad, or holy war.
Earlier this month, Jamaat-e-Islami held massive rallies in the port city of Karachi and the capital, Islamabad.
Supporters, including women and children, marched for several kilometers (miles) to reach the location of the rally, holding banners and posters with slogans opposing Israel and the United States and in support of the Palestinians.
Senator Sirajul Haq, the JI chief, said the ongoing rallies in support of Palestinians around the world awaken world governments and give a voice to the innocent.
He said the resolutions and words issued by the Organization for Islamic Cooperation will not work, and that Muslim rulers have to rise and to stop the hand of the aggressor. (AP) - 19 Nov 2023 10:44 AM GMT
30 premature babies evacuated from Shifa, to be transferred to Egypt hospitals
Gaza’s Health Ministry says 30 premature babies have been evacuated from Shifa Hospital and will be transferred to hospitals in Egypt.
Medhat Abbas, a spokesman for the ministry, said they were evacuated from the hospital on Sunday.
A World Health Organisation team that visited Shifa Hospital on Saturday said 32 babies were among scores of critically ill patients stranded at the hospital, where Israeli forces have been operating since last week.
It was not immediately possible to resolve the discrepancy in the numbers. (AP) - 19 Nov 2023 8:53 AM GMT
Israeli forces expanding operations in Gaza
Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said Saturday that Israel's forces were expanding operations in Gaza City. “With every passing day, there are fewer places where Hamas terrorists can operate,” he said, adding that the militants would learn that in southern Gaza “in the coming days." His comments were the clearest indication yet that the military plans to expand its offensive to southern Gaza, where Israel had told Palestinian civilians to seek refuge. The evacuation zone is already crammed with displaced civilians, and it was not clear where they would go if the offensive moved closer.
Even as it warns of a broadening offensive, Israel remains at odds with its main ally, the United States, over what to do with Gaza should it succeed in removing Hamas from power. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Saturday that the Israeli military would have “full freedom” to operate within Gaza after the war, indicating it would at least temporarily reoccupy the territory from which it withdrew soldiers and settlers in 2005.
- 19 Nov 2023 8:51 AM GMT
Israeli airstrikes continue across Gaza
Elsewhere in northern Gaza, dozens of people were killed in the urban Jabaliya refugee camp when what witnesses described as an Israeli airstrike hit a crowded UN shelter Saturday.
“The scenes were horrifying. Corpses of women and children were on the ground. Others were screaming for help,” Radwan said by phone. AP photos from a local hospital showed more than 20 bodies wrapped in bloodstained sheets. The Israeli military, which has repeatedly called on Palestinians to leave northern Gaza, said only that its troops were active in the area “with the aim of hitting terrorists.” It rarely comments on individual strikes, saying only that it targets Hamas while trying to minimise civilian harm.
Heavy clashes were reported in the Jabaliya camp overnight into Sunday. “There was the constant sound of fire, gunfire and tank shelling,” Yassin Sharif, who is sheltering in a UN-run hospital in the camp, said by phone. “It was another night of horror.” In southern Gaza, an Israeli airstrike hit a residential building near the town of Khan Younis on Saturday, killing at least 26 Palestinians, according to a doctor at the hospital where the bodies were taken.
- 19 Nov 2023 8:48 AM GMT
32 babies among scores of patients stranded in Gaza's main hospital
A United Nations team said Sunday that 291 patients were left at Gaza's largest hospital after Israeli troops had others evacuate. Those left included 32 babies in extremely critical condition, trauma patients with severely infected wounds, and others with spinal injuries who are unable to move.
The team was able to tour Shifa Hospital for an hour after about 2,500 displaced people, mobile patients and medical staff left the sprawling compound Saturday morning, said the World Health Organisation, which led the mission. It said 25 medical staff remained, along with the patients.
“Patients and health staff with whom they spoke were terrified for their safety and health, and pleaded for evacuation,” the agency said, describing Shifa as a death zone. It said more teams will attempt to reach Shifa in coming days to try to the evacuate patients to southern Gaza, where hospitals are also overwhelmed.
- 19 Nov 2023 7:54 AM GMT
US bid to broker deal to free hostages
The US is working to broker a deal between Israel, the US, and Hamas to free hostages held in Gaza in exchange for a five-day pause in fighting. The agreement, which was put together during talks in Doha, Qatar, would release dozens of women and children held hostage in Gaza in smaller batches over five days. The pause in fighting would also allow for an increase in humanitarian assistance to enter Gaza from Egypt. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is facing pressure to secure the release of the hostages, with public opinion turning against him.
- 19 Nov 2023 7:53 AM GMT
India sends more humanitarian aid for Gaza
A second Indian Air Force (IAF) C17 aircraft, carrying 32 tonnes of aid for civilians in Gaza caught up in the ongoing Israel-Hamas war, on Sunday departed for the El-Arish Airport in Egypt. Taking to his official handle on X, External Affairs Minister S Jaishanker reaffirmed New Delhi's commitment to extend humanitarian assistance to Gazans, posting, "We continue to deliver humanitarian assistance to the people of Palestine. Second @IAF_MCC C17 aircraft carrying 32 tonnes of aid departs for the El-Arish Airport in Egypt." Earlier, India sent 38 tonnes of humanitarian relief for civilians caught up in the ongoing ground offensive by the Israeli forces in the Gaza Strip.
- 19 Nov 2023 7:50 AM GMT
'No contact with groups assigned to guard hostages'
Hamas on Saturday said that it lost contact with groups assigned to guard some hostages, however, did not give a particular number of how many of the approximately 240 hostages held in Gaza were unaccounted for.
