Gaza newborns face life-threatening health crisis amid medicine shortages

GAZA, Sept. 27 (YPA) – Newborns in the Gaza Strip are facing a severe health and humanitarian crisis, while each three children are forced to share one bed the floor or on blankets due to overcrowding, Dr. Ahmed al-Farra, the director of Al-Tahrir Hospital at the Nasser Medical Complex in Gaza, told the Palestinian News Agency (WAFA) on Saturday.

Al-Farra warned that “the children are being admitted to the hospital and placed on the floor; some don’t even have a mattress.” Oxygen is being distributed based on priority due to the shortage.”

“The overcrowding increases the risk of respiratory infections, and some premature babies are forced to use ventilators.”

He added that the increase in premature births was a direct consequence of the war, warning that children being punished solely for the ‘crime’ of being born in Gaza.

Al-Farra called for an immediate end to the genocidal war, in additional to for the rehabilitation and reactivation of hospitals, particularly neonatal intensive care units, to accommodate the large number of patients and newborns.

The Gaza-based Ministry of Health stated that the Israeli aggression has resulted in the destruction or disruption of 38 hospitals, 96 health centers, and 197 ambulances, prompting international organizations to warn of a complete collapse of the health system in the Strip.

AA