Health Officials: 31 Premature Infants Transferred from Shifa Hospital to Southern Gaza

Health officials in Gaza reported that 31 premature infants were safely transferred from Shifa Hospital, Gaza's main hospital, to another hospital in southern Gaza on Sunday, and will subsequently be moved to Egypt. According to the Associated Press, after Israeli forces entered the Shifa Hospital premises, many critically ill patients were left stranded there. The fate of the infants at Shifa Hospital drew global attention after images surfaced showing doctors struggling to keep them warm. Power outages had caused incubators and other equipment to shut down. While Israeli forces were engaged in battles with Palestinian militants outside the hospital, food and water supplies had also run out. Tedros Adhanom, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, stated on social media that the 'very sick' infants were evacuated along with six health workers and ten family members of staff from Shifa Hospital. He mentioned that they were transferred to a hospital in the city of Rafah in southern Gaza, where they are receiving urgent care. A team from the World Health Organization visited Shifa Hospital on Saturday and reported that 291 patients, including infants, severely injured patients with infectious wounds, and others with spinal injuries who are unable to move, remain there. The WHO states that patients and hospital staff they spoke to are very concerned about their safety and health and have requested evacuation from the facility. Israel has long claimed that Hamas has a large command center inside and beneath Shifa Hospital. Hamas and hospital staff deny these allegations, and critics of Israel view this hospital as a symbol of what they call 'Israel's reckless endangerment of civilian lives.' The United States, the European Union, and Japan have designated the Hamas militant group, which is supported by the Islamic Republic, as a terrorist organization. Thousands have been killed in Israeli attacks, and there is a severe shortage of food, water, medicine, and fuel in the besieged territory. Israeli soldiers, who have been stationed at the hospital for days and searching the premises, claim to have found weapons and other arms and showed reporters the entrance to a tunnel. The Associated Press states that it cannot independently verify Israel's findings. Herzog: Israel is fighting on behalf of the civilized world. Netanyahu's reaction to Biden's note: The Palestinian Authority is incapable of managing Gaza.