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The babies from Shifa hospital became a symbol of the suffering of civilians at the hospital, which was stormed by the Israeli army (IDF) last week. 31 of them were evacuated on Sunday from Shifa Hospital to the Emirati Hospital in Rafah, near the border with Egypt. From there, 28 premature babies were brought across the border on Monday; three others remained in the Gaza Strip.

The fate of Merah, Dahab and Anas

Ayat Al Daour is the mother of twins who were taken to the Emirati hospital in Rafah, the New York Times reports. She gave birth five days after the fighting started and was able to leave the hospital shortly afterwards – but without her two daughters Mera and Dahab. She had to wait 39 days to see her again.

When she left the hospital, she fled to a refugee camp in Gaza and shortly afterwards to the southern Gaza Strip. During this time, she was unable to contact Shifa Hospital and therefore did not know how her daughters were doing. When she heard that all the premature babies had been transferred to the Emirati hospital in the south of the Gaza Strip, she set out on foot. She was very concerned because she had heard on the news that a premature baby had died. She didn’t know if it was one of her babies. After an hour’s walk, she finally got relief: she could see her twins, who were doing well under the circumstances. Nevertheless, they were taken to Egypt for further treatment.

Warda Sbeta also feared for her newborn baby, she told Reuters on Tuesday. She and her husband frantically checked the list of names published by Rafah Hospital’s neonatal unit. And there it was in black and white: Anas. Her son was safe.

She would also have had the opportunity to be transferred to Egypt with her son. However, the 32-year-old mother has seven other children that she and her husband have to take care of. For this reason, she declined the offer and now lives in the refugee shelter in Khan Younis with her husband, the premature baby and her seven other children. Anas is one of three babies left behind in the Gaza Strip. According to doctors at Rafah Hospital, one of the other two babies has not yet been identified. They did not provide any information about the third baby.

For some babies, help came too late

For at least five of the babies, help came too late: The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) reported that five premature babies died at Shifa Hospital due to a lack of electricity and fuel. Reuters currently reports eight dead premature babies. When the hospital raised the alarm on November 12, nurses were still caring for 39 babies.

The WHO said on Sunday that all the babies were seriously ill. 11 or 12 are in critical condition. UNICEF, which was involved in the babies’ evacuation, also said the babies’ condition had rapidly deteriorated before the evacuation.

WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus posted a photo of a UN peacekeeper with one of the premature babies on the X platform. He writes that the babies, along with six nurses and 10 family members, were evacuated by hospital staff under extremely delicate and very dangerous conditions. UNICEF spokesman James Elder told Reuters that 20 babies arrived in Rafah unaccompanied by relatives. Although some of them are orphans, for others there is no information about their families.

Separated from the babies since October

Many babies at Shifa Hospital were separated from their families after October 7. On that day, Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel, killing 1,200 people and kidnapping 240. In response, the Israeli army carried out numerous airstrikes on the Gaza Strip and sent ground troops into the closed area. According to Hamas, more than 13,000 people have been killed in the Gaza Strip since then. According to the United Nations, 1.7 million people have been displaced by the military escalation.

Sbeta and her family also had to leave their home in Gaza City and flee south. She had to leave little Anas, who had already been treated at Shifa Hospital before October 7. A little later she received a call from the hospital, Sbeta says. They were asked to pick up the baby, but the roads north were closed.

After a short time the hospital was already overcrowded. Patients were being cared for in the hallways on the floor, while power and fuel slowly ran out. When the hospital was stormed by Israeli forces on November 15, Sbeta could no longer bear to be separated from her baby. Israel accused Hamas of using the hospital as a control center, which Hamas has always denied. After the storm at the hospital, communication with the hospital was completely broken and Sbeta did not know if her baby was still alive or if anyone was caring for it.

The premature babies were finally rescued from Schifa Hospital on November 20. According to their own statements, the Israeli forces were also involved in the evacuation. As they wrote on Twitter, they had facilitated the evacuation and delivered incubators.

This is how it continues now

Dr Mohammad Salama, in charge of the neonatal unit at the Emirati hospital in Rafah, told Reuters that the condition of the three babies, who were initially still in hospital in Gaza, was “stable”. However, all 31 premature babies were in “catastrophic condition” when they arrived in Rafah. “Some were malnourished, others were dehydrated and some had low body temperatures.”

After initially receiving care at the maternity hospital in Rafah, the babies were transferred to the city of al-Arish, the capital of Egypt’s North Sinai Governorate. Twelve of them were flown to Cairo. Jeremy Hopkins, head of UNICEF in Cairo, told Reuters news agency that they were working with Egyptian authorities to clarify the exact circumstances of the babies. In particular, it clarifies how the babies who arrived in Egypt unaccompanied can be assisted in addition to medical assistance.