Lives of Gaza's Infants Hang in the Balance as Incubators Are Shared
Two infants suffering from rickets lie side by side in a single incubator at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, in the southern Gaza Strip, connected to medical monitoring devices... This device, originally designed to accommodate one infant, is sometimes shared by three babies.
Being born in Gaza, torn apart by years of war between Israel and Hamas, means entering a world brimming with immense challenges. For premature or sick children, the situation is extremely critical due to hospitals’ near-total lack of resources.
Hatim Zuhair, head of the neonatal unit at the hospital, summarized the scene in an interview with Agence France-Presse published today, stating, “The situation is tragic, and getting worse from bad to worse,” adding, “We no longer have available incubators, and there are many infants who need oxygen.”
The war launched by Israel against Hamas in response to its October 7, 2023, attack has destroyed or damaged a large number of hospitals and caused near-total paralysis of the healthcare system in the Gaza Strip.
Palestinian doctors and non-governmental organizations point out that Israel’s restrictions on the entry of goods into Palestinian territories have also contributed to a severe shortage of basic medical supplies and specialized equipment.
Zuhair explained that the situation is becoming even more difficult amid a noticeable rise in premature births over recent months.
Last March, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that 70 percent of newborns were born prematurely or with low birth weight.
In a report published last June, a UN fact-finding mission noted “increased rates of spontaneous abortion, stillbirths, low birth weight, and congenital malformations” under these conditions.
These large numbers of fragile newborns are forcing medical teams to place two or even three infants in a single incubator to save as many as possible, a practice that entails risks of declining healthcare quality.
