Thirty-one neonatal infants were evacuated from al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza, alongside six health workers and 10 staff family members, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on 19 November. The evacuation was carried out through a joint mission by WHO, the Palestinian Red Crescent, and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), as well as other UN agencies, including the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS) and the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees (UNRWA). The infants were transported in six ambulances to the neonatal intensive care unit at al-Helal al-Emarati Maternity Hospital in southern Gaza, where they are being assessed and stabilized. The doctors reported that 11 infants are in critical condition, and the rest are fighting severe infections due to the lack of medical supplies and infection control measures in al-Shifa Hospital. Since 11 November, 40 patients, including four premature babies, have died in al-Shifa hospital due to fuel shortages and lack of electricity. “Further missions are being planned to urgently transport remaining patients and health staff out of Al-Shifa Hospital,” WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said on 19 November. There…
WHO, Palestinian Red Crescent Evacuate 31 Infants from Gaza’s al-Shifa Hospital
November 20, 2023
