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Al-Shifa Hospital’s Newborns: Orphans Left Without a Path to Parents

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Al-Shifa Hospital’s Newborns: Orphans Left Without a Path to Parents

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After weeks of enduring tragic conditions at Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, Egyptian hospitals welcomed 28 Gazan newborns on Monday.
This journey involved meticulous preparations to ensure the newborns’ safe passage from the northern to the southern part of Gaza, preceding their transfer for medical care arrangements.
Egyptian Health Minister Khaled Abdel Ghaffar announced the arrival of the children, initially at Al-Arish General Hospital in North Sinai, where 16 newborns were received.
Additionally, 12 other newborns were transported to the airport in Arish in preparation for their treatment in Cairo.
Parents and doctors speaking to Asharq Al-Awsat shed light on conditions they are enduring after approximately seven weeks of confinement in the besieged Al-Shifa Hospital.
The evacuation of newborns from Al-Shifa Hospital, the largest in Gaza, occurred after it became a target for Israeli military operations in recent days, ultimately leading to its evacuation.
According to a statement from the Red Crescent, the evacuation was coordinated with the World Health Organization and the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
Dr. Mahmoud Salama, head of the Neonatology Department at the Emirati hospital in Rafah, informed Asharq Al-Awsat that 31 children arrived last Sunday after being evacuated from Al-Shifa Hospital, receiving 24 hours of care before being transferred for treatment in Egypt.
However, he clarified that “some cases from Al-Shifa Hospital were not transferred to Egypt due to improvements in their conditions.”
Regarding the children’s medical condition, Salama said: “Their status varies from stable to severe.”
Salama noted that some cases were “very challenging” and were addressed directly.
Most of them suffered from severe temperature drops, malnutrition, low sugar levels, and decreased blood levels.
Medical sources in Egypt’s Arish revealed that “only five mothers and five nursing staff members accompanied the newborns.”

 

 

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UN Food Agency Says Its Food Stocks in Gaza Have Run out under Israel’s Blockade

A girl puts a pot to her head as Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, April 24, 2025. (Reuters)
A girl puts a pot to her head as Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, April 24, 2025. (Reuters)
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UN Food Agency Says Its Food Stocks in Gaza Have Run out under Israel’s Blockade

A girl puts a pot to her head as Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, April 24, 2025. (Reuters)
A girl puts a pot to her head as Palestinians wait to receive food cooked by a charity kitchen, in Beit Lahia, northern Gaza Strip, April 24, 2025. (Reuters)

The World Food Program says its food stocks in the Gaza Strip have run out under Israel’s nearly 8-week-old blockade, ending a main source of sustenance for hundreds of thousands of Palestinians in the territory.

The WFP said in a statement that it delivered the last of its stocks to charity kitchens that it supports around Gaza. It said those kitchens are expected to run out of food in the coming days.

Some 80% of Gaza’s population of more than 2 million relies primarily on charity kitchens for food, because other sources have shut down under Israel’s blockade, according to the UN. The WFP has been supporting 47 kitchens that distribute 644,000 hot meals a day, WFP spokesperson Abeer Etefa told the Associated Press.

It was not immediately clear how many kitchens would still be operating in Gaza if those shut down. But Etefa said the WFP-backed kitchens are the major ones in Gaza.

Israel cut off entry of all food, fuel, medicine and other supplies to Gaza on March 2 and then resumed its bombardment and ground offensives two weeks later, shattering a two-month ceasefire with Hamas. It says the moves aim to pressure Hamas to release hostages it still holds. Rights groups have called the blockade a “starvation tactic” and a potential war crime.

Israel has said Gaza has enough supplies after a surge of aid entered during the ceasefire and accuses Hamas of diverting aid for its purposes. Humanitarian workers deny there is significant diversion, saying the UN strictly monitors distribution. They say the aid flow during the ceasefire was barely enough to cover the immense needs from throughout the war when only a trickle of supplies got in.

With no new goods entering Gaza, many foods have disappeared from markets, including meat, eggs, fruits, dairy products and many vegetables. Prices for what remains have risen dramatically, becoming unaffordable for much of the population. Most families rely heavily on canned goods.

Malnutrition is already surging. The UN said it identified 3,700 children suffering from acute malnutrition in March, up 80% from the month before. At the same time, because of diminishing supplies, aid groups were only able to provide nutritional supplements to some 22,000 children in March, down 70% from February. The supplements are a crucial tool for averting malnutrition.

Almost all bakeries shut down weeks ago and the WFP stopped distribution of food basics to families for lack of supplies. With stocks of most ingredients depleted, charity kitchens generally can only serve meals of pasta or rice with little added.

World Central Kitchen -- a US charity that is one of the biggest in Gaza that doesn’t rely on the WFP -- said Thursday that its kitchens had run out of proteins. Instead, they make stews from canned vegetables. Because fuel is scarce, it dismantles wooden shipping pallets to burn in its stoves, it said. It also runs the only bakery still functioning in Gaza, producing 87,000 loaves of pita a day.

The WFP said 116,000 tons of food is ready to be brought into Gaza if Israel opens the borders, enough to feed 1 million people for four months.

Israel has leveled much of Gaza with its air and ground campaign, vowing to destroy Hamas after its Oct. 7, 2023, attack on southern Israel. It has killed over 51,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, according to Gaza’s Health Ministry, whose count does not distinguish between civilians and combatants.

In the Oct. 7 attack, gunmen killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and abducted 251. They still hold 59 hostages after most were released in ceasefire deals.