2023-11-03 04:00:04
In the Gaza Strip, premature babies are at risk of dying. The issue is due to an urgent problem: the lack of fuel in hospitals. The Palestinian territory has been in need of this and other basic products since October 9, when Israel declared a total siege on the region, preventing water, food, medicine and other essential items from reaching the enclave.
Israel’s decision came after Hamas’ surprise attack on October 7, when terrorists from the Palestinian group infiltrated southern Israel, carried out massacres and kidnapped hundreds of hostages. According to authorities, around 1,400 Israelis died in the offensive, while at least 239 others are being held hostage by extremists.
Hospitals across Gaza warn that fuel supplies are running low amid the total blockade. Once the generators stop, newborns who depend on electric incubators to survive could die within minutes.
The fuel shortage has already led to the closure of several hospitals, including the only oncology hospital in the Palestinian territory. In the absence of medicines, the few hospitals that still operate are performing procedures without anesthesia. At al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza City, the largest medical complex in the Palestinian enclave, medical staff described working conditions as “catastrophic”.
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On Al Jazeera, young Samar Awad, 25 years old, Talia’s mother, shares her drama. Along with the gut-wrenching fear that a bomb could kill her husband and 3-year-old son, she is overcome by anxiety that the incubator keeping her newborn daughter alive could shut down due to lack of fuel.
“I’m afraid the hospital will run out of fuel,” Talia said. “I want this war to end and for my daughter to return home to her brother and father, who miss her very much.”
Lina Rabie, 27, struggled for years to conceive a baby. The blessing arrived, but a week before the start of the war. Marwan, as the boy was named, was born in the first week of the eighth month of pregnancy. Doctors told her that the child’s life was in danger.
“Every second of the war, my heart burns with fear for my son and for all children,” said Lina. “I hope the conflict ends and my son recovers, so I can hug him whenever I want.”
The United Nations Sexual and Reproductive Health Agency, UNFPA, estimated that 50,000 pregnant women have been affected by the conflict in Gaza since October 7. It is estimated that around 15% of births result in complications. As part of the UN, UNFPA has called for an immediate ceasefire.
“There needs to be space and time to alleviate the human suffering we are witnessing in Gaza,” Dominic Allen, UNFPA representative for the State of Palestine, told Al Jazeera. “Humanitarian aid and supplies must be authorized.”
Hundreds of trucks carrying humanitarian aid have entered Gaza through the Rafah border crossing in recent weeks. Despite this, Israel prevented the delivery of fuel to Palestinian territory, claiming that this could benefit Hamas.
This Thursday (2), the death toll in the Gaza Strip reached 9,061, including 3,760 children. Among the victims are Palestinians killed after the attack on the Jabalia refugee camp in the north. According to the Gaza Ministry of Health, 195 people died and another 777 were injured in this offensive. At least 120 people are missing under the rubble.
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