Minister of Health Mai Alkaila said today that 39 premature babies are at risk of death at Shifa Hospital in Gaza City if the power supply is cut off. She told a press conference in Ramallah that with the Israeli bombing of al-Shifa Hospital, particularly targeting the fourth floor of the Obstetrics and Gynecology ward and the outpatient clinics, and the cut off of the power supply to large parts of the hospital and the pediatric intensive care unit, the 39 premature babies there are at risk of death if the oxygen is cut off. ‘Targeting hospitals, medical and ambulance personnel in the Gaza Strip, in light of the ongoing Israeli aggression for the 36th day in a row, is a war crime and genocide,’ said Alkaila speaking on the latest developments regarding the ongoing aggression against hospitals and medical staff and the Gaza Strip in general. She warned that the situation in the hospitals of the Gaza Strip has reached an unprecedented situation, with hospitals, medical staff, and ambulances being targeted. The Health Minister expressed disappointment with international law, international humanitarian law, and international treaties for not protecting the hospital from bombing and the destruction and killing of doctors, patients, the wounded, and displaced civilians. She said the occupation forces bombed the Baptist Hospital, leaving more than 500 people dead, and tried to deny its responsibility for this crime, but that today, in a live and direct broadcast, and with a frank confession and in front of the whole world, Israel bombs hospitals, cut off fuel, medical supplies, electricity, and water, which means sentencing patients to death either due to thirst, burns, lack of medicine, or bombardment with lethal weapons. ‘The Israeli death and destruction machine is still waging its aggression against the Gaza Strip for the 36th day, as the number of martyrs since the beginning of the aggression against the Gaza Strip has reached more than 11,000, including more than 4,500 children, 3,000 women, and 700 elderly people, while the number of wounded has reached more than 27,000, most of them women and children,’ she said. Al-Awda Hospital was also bombed and parts of the building were destroyed, and a number of ambulance vehicles and the hospital’s courtyards were destroyed, said Alkaila. The medical staff in the hospital were informed of the need to evacuate immediately, leaving the patients without the slightest medical care. However, the medical staff remained in the hospital, in addition to the Baptist Hospital. Al-Ahly Al-Arabi, in which the orthopedic and surgery department remained functioning after the bombing, with whatever capabilities were available. The Israeli forces bombed the surroundings of Al-Shifa Hospital since yesterday, where tens of thousands of displaced people are staying and where wounded and sick people are getting medical attention.
Source: Palestine News & Information Agency