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Al-shifa hospital: Premature babies transported from Gaza to Egypt for urgent treatment
The Palestinian Red Crescent helped to evacuate 28 infants to the Rafah Crossing
November 20, 2023 13:12
The Palestinian Red Crescent helped to evacuate 28 infants to the Rafah Crossing
November 20, 2023 13:12A group of premature babies has arrived in Egypt for "urgent treatment" after the infants were transported through the Rafah crossing from Gaza this morning.
The 28 infants were transported from the Emirates hospital in southern Gaza after being evacuated from al-Shifa hospital, in northern Gaza.
A total of 31 babies were safely moved to the facility, officials said originally. It is unclear what has happened to three of the infants.
The Palestinian Red Crescent (PRCS) confirmed that its medical teams had evacuated the babies from the Emirates hospital in partnership with the World Health Organisation and the United Nations.
It said: "The PRCS emergency medical services teams evacuated today 28 premature infants from the Emirates Hospital to the Rafah Crossing, to be transferred to receive medical treatment in Egyptian hospitals.
"This was co-ordinated by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the United Nations Office for the Co-ordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA). This step was taken due to the poor health conditions of the children caused by power outages in nurseries and their consumption of contaminated water and milk, leading to health complications that require urgent treatment abroad."
Egypt's AlQahera News channel showed four ambulances bearing the PRCS symbol on the Egyptian side of the Rafah border crossing.
Citing doctors at the Rafah hospital, the WHO said earlier that the babies were fighting serious infections and 11 were in “critical condition,” due to a lack of medical supplies at al-Shifa.