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Despite Israel’s siege, Al-Amal Hospital in Khan Yunis saves mother, baby

February 17, 2024 at 10:08 am

A view from a hospital room of the Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, where health services are about to halt since fuel did not still arrive to the hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza on January 12, 2024 [Doaa Albaz – Anadolu Agency]

The Palestinian Red Crescent Society (PRCS) announced on Friday that Al-Amal Hospital in the city of Khan Yunis, south of the Gaza Strip, succeeded in saving a mother and her baby.

The PRCS posted on X: “Amidst the ongoing attack and siege on PRCS Al-Amal Hospital, the medical team achieved a remarkable feat this morning by performing an urgent caesarean section for a pregnant woman experiencing sudden labour pains.”

“Despite facing challenges such as insufficient blood units, the absence of an available anaesthesia technician (who was arrested), and the lack of a neonatologist, the team successfully completed the operation, ensuring the safety of both the baby and the mother, who are currently in good condition,” it added.

For weeks, the Israeli army has been escalating its military campaign against the healthcare system in Khan Yunis. In recent days, it forced thousands of displaced Palestinians to leave Al-Amal Hospital and Nasser Medical complex in the city.

On Wednesday, the PRCS announced that the vicinity of the Al-Amal Hospital had been subjected to “violent” Israeli bombing that damaged the building.

Since 22 January, the Israeli army has launched a series of intense air and artillery raids on Khan Yunis and in the vicinity of the city’s hospitals amid ground advances by its vehicles in the southern and western areas of the city, prompting thousands of Palestinians to flee the city.

Since 7 October, 2023, Israel has been waging a devastating genocidal war on the Gaza Strip that has left tens of thousands of civilian victims, most of them women and children, in addition to an unprecedented humanitarian catastrophe and massive destruction of infrastructure. This led to Tel Aviv being brought before the International Court of Justice on genocide charges.

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