Gaza babies share oxygen masks, Israel blocks medical equipment

Hospitals in northern Gaza have faced closures, and overcrowding in the south of Gaza’s hospitals has become unmanageable to the degree that babies are having to share oxygen masks, all the while, Israel has blocked incubator transfers from a hospital in the north.

UNICEF spokesperson, James Elder, said that mothers and their babies are lining the corridors of a hospital in the southern part of Gaza, called Nasser Hospital, The New Arab via Reuters reported on October 7th.

Premature babies have to share oxygen masks and beds, whilst all the crucial equipment that is needed for the babies is in the northern part of Gaza, where these hospitals have been closed.

UNICEF has urged for an evacuation for any unwell or premature babies in the north Gaza hospitals.

The struggle for babies and mothers has been ongoing; it has been two years of Israel’s war on Gaza, and the conflict has caused high stress and malnutrition for mothers, which has led to a higher rate of babies being premature or underweight.

The World Health Organisation says now that we see this rise, premature and underweight babies account for 20% of all Gaza newborns.

Two Australian doctors who have been in Gaza, described their experience of witnessing bloodshed and experiencing distress, in which the scenes there were described as a “slaughterhouse”.

Nada Abu al-Rub, a doctor who has now left Gaza, described how Israel blocked supplies such as baby formula and nutritional goods from reaching the territory.

“They [the Israeli government] basically threatened that any organisation that brings baby formula will be completely closed and no doctors from that organisation would be allowed to enter Gaza again.” Rub asserted: What is so scary about baby formula?”

It was reported on July 15th, by the UN–sponsored Global Protection Cluster, that 10 children in Gaza were losing one or both limbs every day, with many undergoing surgery with no anaesthesia.

Hospitals across Gaza have been targeted by the Israeli military, which has left a massive impact on the resources needed for emergency healthcare.

The UN agency for Palestinian refugees (UNRWA) on July 15th reported that one in ten children screened in its Gaza clinics are now experiencing malnutrition.

It is clear that the malnutrition crisis has worsened in Gaza, and with resources being deliberately held back by Israel, the crisis will continue to worsen. With only 14 out of 36 hospitals partly operating in Gaza, it has become increasingly difficult for women with babies to seek the right support.

The New Arab via Reuters, Maghrebi.org