Dozens of babies end up in Gaza ‘death zone’

WHO team found a mass grave at the entrance to Al-Shifa Hospital

More than thirty babies have been abandoned at the evacuated Al Shifa hospital in Gaza, which the World Health Organization has called a “killing zone.” Meanwhile, the US says it is continuing to work on a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas to ensure the release of the hostages.

A team of UN and WHO experts carried out a “high-risk operation” to get inside Al Shifa Hospital, despite reports of heavy fighting ongoing nearby and a mass exodus of patients, doctors and other displaced people taking shelter there.

One evacuee described a scene of panic and chaos as Israeli forces frisked and scanned the faces of some of the men as they left the hospital, leading individuals away, Sky News reported.

In a statement issued Saturday evening, WHO said its team arrived after the Israeli Defense Forces issued evacuation orders for the remaining 2,500 internally displaced people who had sought refuge on the hospital grounds.

The IDF categorically denies issuing any such order.

A WHO spokesman said: “Due to time constraints due to the security situation, the team was only able to spend one hour inside the hospital, which they described as a ‘killing zone’ and the situation was ‘desperate.’

“Signs of shelling and gunfire were obvious. The team saw a mass grave at the entrance to the hospital and were told that more than 80 people were buried there.”

They said that the institution had actually ceased to function as a hospital, Sky News reports.

“The corridors and grounds of the hospital were filled with medical and solid waste, increasing the risk of infection,” witnesses said. “Patients and medical staff spoken to were terrified for their safety and health and begged to be evacuated.”

The remaining patients included 32 infants who WHO said were in “extremely critical condition” and two people in intensive care without mechanical ventilation.

Al Shifa Hospital in the war-torn Gaza Strip is a “death zone” with a mass grave at the entrance and a “desperate” situation inside, the World Health Organization (WHO) has said.

Israel accused Hamas of running a command center under the hospital, a claim Hamas and hospital staff deny.

The WHO said staff and patients who interacted with UN workers were “fearful for their safety and health,” adding that they were “begging to be evacuated.”

The WHO says it is “urgently developing plans” to evacuate staff and patients to two hospitals in southern Gaza.

“The vast majority of patients are victims of military trauma, including many with complex fractures and amputations, head injuries, burns, chest and abdominal injuries, and 29 patients with serious spinal injuries who are unable to ambulate without medical assistance,” the WHO said in a statement.