Three babies die after Gaza largest hospital went "out of service"
Nov 11, 2023
Tel Aviv [Israel], November 11 : Three babies died in the neonatal unit of Al-Shifa hospital located in northern Gaza after the hospital went "out of service" amid continuous Israeli fire in the vicinity, CNN reported quoting the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health on Saturday.
It reported quoting Dr. Munir Al-Bursh, Director-General of the Hamas-controlled Ministry of Health that the doctors in the neonatal ward are now being forced to carry out artificial respiration by hand on the 36 babies that they are treating in the hospital.
Bursh also said the hospital was "surrounded from all four directions," estimating that 400 people were being treated at the hospital and around 20,000 displaced people seeking shelter in the hospital complex.
The spokesman for the Hamas-run health ministry in Gaza, Dr. Ashraf al-Qidra said he was trapped inside the al-Shifa complex.
Dr. Qidra said in a statement to CNN that the complex is currently "out of service" after repeatedly being targeted by Israeli fire.
"The intensive care unit, pediatric department, and oxygen devices have stopped working," Dr. Qidra said.
The IDF has regularly said that Hamas is using Gaza hospitals and other civilian infrastructure as cover for its military operations. It has also warned civilians in northern Gaza to move south, CNN reported.
Moreover, Hezbollah chief Hassan Nasrallah calls to drag out the war between Israel and Hamas for as long as possible, The Times of Israel reported.
"Pressure needs to be expanded," he says. "Time is necessary for the movements of the 'resistance.'"
He said the Israeli economy has suffered "tens of billions of dollars of losses" since the October 7 Hamas onslaught "in spite of the 14 billion of dollars of military aid provided by the US," referring to American military assistance for Israel that has yet to be approved.
Meanwhile, the Israel Defence Forces said one of its tanks shelled a Hezbollah anti-tank guided missile squad in southern Lebanon, preparing to carry out an attack near the northern village of Arab al-Aramshe, The Times of Israel reported.
Earlier, an "aerial target" -- thought to be a drone -- was intercepted over Kibbutz Cabri, the IDF said.
Sirens had sounded in the community. Another two targets were intercepted over the Israel-Lebanon border, the IDF said.
Mortars and anti-tank missiles were also fired at IDF posts along the border today.
The IDF says troops are responding with artillery shelling at the sources of the fire and Hezbollah sites in southern Lebanon, The Times of Israel reported.
