UNICEF urges evacuation of babies from Gaza hospital as fighting intensifies
- SAUDI ARABIA BREAKING NEWS
- Sep 29
- 2 min read
Paris, September 29 (Saudi Arabia Breaking News) – The U.N. children’s agency on Monday called for the urgent evacuation of at least 25 ill or premature babies in incubators in Gaza City, as Israeli forces stepped up their ground offensive and shelled a hospital housing around half of them.
Palestinian health officials said tanks were positioned near Al Helo Hospital, where at least 12 babies are in incubators. Medics reported that the site was shelled, and video obtained by Reuters showed hospital rooms and beds strewn with debris.
“It is time to move them because Gaza City again has become a combat zone, but moving them where? There is no safe place for them to go,” UNICEF spokesperson Ricardo Pires told Reuters.
Israeli authorities did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Pires said evacuating the newborns would involve transferring them in makeshift carts, wrapped in blankets with portable oxygen supplies and drips, but warned they could be exposed to infection, fluctuating temperatures, or depleted supplies during the transfer. “Moving them seems like the best option we have now...but at the same time, it’s a very risky one,” he said.
It was not immediately clear which hospitals could receive the babies, with many facilities damaged, overcrowded, and facing shortages.
Pires recalled visiting Gaza City last month, where he saw one premature girl named Narges, who had been delivered from the womb of her mother after she was killed. He said efforts to reach her father and doctors since the shelling had been unsuccessful.
He added that incubator shortages meant multiple babies were being placed together. “I saw four in one incubator last month,” Pires said, noting that some requests to bring in additional incubators had been denied. Israeli authorities could not be reached for comment on the accusation.
The fighting has displaced hundreds of thousands of people in northern Gaza, where food shortages are worsening. Israel has said it will not halt operations unless Hamas releases all hostages and agrees to permanently surrender.
