In addition to the babies, six healthcare workers and ten family members of staff have been evacuated, WHO director Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus writes on X.
According to Tedros, the WHO led a second operation with the United Nations and the Palestinian Red Crescent to the hospital on Sunday.
“Further operations are planned to urgently transport remaining patients and medical personnel out of al-Shifa Hospital, depending on whether the parties to the conflict guarantee safe passage,” he writes.
According to Al Jazeera, reporting from Nasser Hospital in southern Gaza, the babies were on their way to hospitals in southern Gaza. Six ambulances from the Palestine Red Crescent Society (PRCS) transported them, in an effort coordinated with the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, the group wrote in a post on its Facebook page.
“Desperate” situation
The babies were transferred to southern Gaza “in preparation for their transfer to the Emirates Hospital in Rafah”, the PRCS said.
The evacuation follows a visit by WHO, among others, to the hospital on Saturday. In a statement, the WHO writes that it, together with other aid organizations and security personnel, has been inside al-Shifa. During the hour that the situation allowed the organizations to stay in the hospital, they witnessed a “desperate” situation in what they describe as “a death zone”.
They saw clear signs of shell fire and gunfire. They also saw a mass grave at the entrance to the hospital and were informed that 80 people were buried there.
Waste and garbage
The organizations’ assessment is that al-Shifa, formerly the largest, most advanced and best-equipped hospital in Gaza, can no longer function as a healthcare facility. IN the statement they describe that medical waste and rubbish are scattered on the premises and in the corridors – an obvious health hazard that increases the risk of infections.
At the time of the visit, 25 staff members and 291 patients remained at the hospital. Among the patients were 32 premature babies whose condition was critical, two people who were in intensive care without breathing aids and 22 dialysis patients who did not have full access to the treatment they need to survive.
The majority of patients are treated for injuries caused by the war, according to the WHO. There are people with severe head injuries, complicated fractures, burns and patients who have been amputated. Several have infected wounds.