Israel-Hamas war: Gaza baby saved from dying mother’s womb dies
The premature baby saved as her mother lay fatally injured by an Israeli air strike has died in a Rafah hospital. Warning: Graphic
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A baby saved from her dying mother’s womb in the war-battered Gaza Strip Gaza Strip has died, her uncle told AFP.
Sabreen al-Ruh was the only surviving member of her immediate family after she was delivered by Caesarean section while her mother lay fatally wounded from an Israeli air strike at the weekend.
The Emirati hospital in the southern Gaza city of Rafah said the premature baby died on Thursday “despite efforts by the neonatal unit staff” to keep her alive.
Her uncle Rami al-Sheikh told AFP the hospital had called to say “her condition had worsened and they couldn’t save her”.
“She passed away to join her family,” he said. “I went and completed all the procedures at the hospital today, and brought the girl’s body home.”
“I opened her father Shukri’s grave and buried her there,” he added. Witnesses told AFP the family’s house in Rafah was hit by an Israeli strike, which killed at least 19 people, according to Gaza’s health ministry. Al-Ruh’s father and sister were among those killed.
Al-Ruh’s mother Sabreen al-Sakani reached the emergency unit at the city’s Kuwaiti hospital in a critical condition with wounds to the head and abdomen, and died shortly after the baby was delivered.
Doctors had described the baby’s survival as a “miracle” earlier this week. Al-Ruh had been transferred to the Emirati field hospital, set up in December to cope with the besieged Palestinian territory’s mounting toll of injured and dead.
Israel has since threatened to invade Rafah, where most of Gaza’s population has sought refuge, despite international outcry.
The war in Gaza between Israel and Hamas erupted when the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel on October 7.
The attack resulted in the deaths of 1,170 people in Israel, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
Israel vowed to eliminate Hamas, and its ensuing military offensive in Gaza has killed at least 34,356 people, most of them women and children, according to the health ministry in the Hamas-run territory.
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18 NATIONS URGE HAMAS TO RELEASE HOSTAGES
The leaders of the United States, Britain, France and more than a dozen other countries called in a joint statement for Hamas to release the scores of hostages it is holding.
Hamas seized the hostages during a shock October 7 attack that sparked the deadliest ever war between it and Israel, which has vowed to eliminate the Palestinian militant group.
“We call for the immediate release of all hostages held by Hamas in Gaza for over 200 days. They include our own citizens,” the leaders said.
“We emphasise that the deal on the table to release the hostages would bring an immediate and prolonged ceasefire in Gaza, that would facilitate a surge of additional necessary humanitarian assistance to be delivered throughout Gaza, and lead to the credible end of hostilities,” they said.
“We strongly support the ongoing mediation efforts in order to bring our people home.”
Israel estimates 129 of the roughly 250 people abducted during the Hamas attack on October 7 remain in Gaza, including 34 who the military says are dead.
The Hamas attack resulted in the deaths of 1170 people, according to an AFP tally based on official Israeli figures.
A protest outside the Defence Ministry headquarters in Tel Aviv on Thursday called for government action to release the hostages, amid the ongoing conflict in the Gaza Strip.
Hamas on April 24 released a video of an Israeli-American man held hostage in Gaza who is seen alive and saying that the captives are living “in hell”.
HAMAS HOSTAGE APPEARS IN VIDEO WITHOUT ARM
Hamas has published a harrowing propaganda video showing Israeli-American citizen Hersh Goldberg-Polin, who was abducted during the terror group’s attack on the Supernova music festival on October 7.
Speaking to the camera in Hebrew, the 23-year-old, whose left arm is severed below the elbow, asks the Israeli government to bring home the hostages.
Mr Goldberg-Polin identified himself as Israeli and said he had been held captive for “nearly 200 days,” suggesting that the video was filmed recently, the Times of Israel reported.
The disturbing footage marks the first sign of life from the young man since his abduction.
In the video, Mr Goldberg-Polin said the Netanyahu government should think of the hostages whom he described as living underground and in need of medical attention.
Mr Goldberg-Polin’s left arm was blown off when Hamas descended on the Supernova festival in the Negev desert in the early hours of October 7.
At the end of the video, Mr Goldberg-Polin told his parents that he loved them and missed them.
“I expect and hope to see you very soon after all this tragedy is over,” he said.
In a statement, his parents, Rachel and Jon, who have become vocal advocates in the effort to free the remaining hostages in Gaza, told of their devastation.
“Seeing the video of Hersh today is overwhelming,” the pair said in a statement viewed by the New York Post.
“We are relieved to see him alive but we are also concerned about his health and wellbeing as well as that of all the other hostages and all of those suffering in this region.”
Ms Goldberg-Polin told NBC News that militants threw hand grenades and sprayed gunfire into the bunker into a roadside bomb shelter where her son and dozens more had been hiding, killing many and injuring others.
CHEF JOSE ANDRES PAYS TRIBUTE TO ‘MY BELOVED ZOMI’
A memorial service in Washington DC for the seven aid workers killed by an Israeli air strike while trying to deliver food to Gaza saw World Central Kitchen founder, chef Jose Andres, lose control of his emotions when remembering Zomi Frankcom, the Australian aid worker killed with six others on April 2.
Andres said, “The seven souls we mourn today were there so the hungry could eat,” he said. “They risked everything to feed people.
“In the worst moments, the best of humanity show up … they were the best of humanity. Their example should inspire us to do better, to be better.”
But when Andres came to Zomi Frankcom, his voice cracked and he became tearful and visibly distraught.
“Our beloved Zomi,” said the celebrity chef.
“She embodied our spirit and purpose. She was the spirit. She gave joy to others, even more than she gave food. Dancing, singing, playing with children … she was like a sister to me.
“She travelled the world … nourishing the souls of the many she helped.”
Sniffing back tears and sighing heavily with grief, Andres noted that 200 humanitarian aid workers have been killed in Gaza and said “each of these people leave behind loved ones who will always have them in their hearts.
“The light will always shine through.”
“Today we grieve and suffer alongside the families of our seven beloved heroes and the whole World Central Kitchen family.”
He asked the WCK workers present at the memorial to stand up as the crowd applauded them. “You are our light in the darkness,” said Andres.
But in his speech he also demanded justice for those killed.
“There is no excuse for these killings, none,” he said. “The official explanation is not good enough and we still demand an investigation.”
To those who have questioned why WCK was in Gaza in the front lines he answered, “We ask ourselves the same question day and night. We are all consumed with anger, regret and sorrow.”
ISRAEL ‘ELIMINATES’ HEZBOLLAH COMMANDERS
Israeli forces have carried out “offensive action” across southern Lebanon, Defence Minister Yoav Gallant said.
“Many forces are deployed on the border and IDF (army) forces are carrying out offensive action currently throughout southern Lebanon,” Mr Gallant said in a statement, also claiming that “half of Hezbollah’s commanders in southern Lebanon have been eliminated”.
“The other half are in hiding and abandoning the field to IDF operations,” he added without giving a specific number.
In a separate statement, the army said it had struck 40 Hezbollah targets in southern Lebanon
‘CRITICAL’ AID PACKAGE PASSES US CONGRESS
A $US95bn ($A148bn) package that will provide aid to Israel (US$13bn) and Gaza, as well as Ukraine, has passed the US Congress after months of debate.
Israeli Foreign Minister Israel Katz said the approval of the aid package sent a “strong message to all our enemies” in a post on social media platform X.
US President Joe Biden is expected to sign the bill into law on Wednesday (local time).
The historic foreign aid package arms Ukraine and Israel, bolsters the AUKUS pact and paves the way for a ban on TikTok unless its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, divests entirely from it.
Days after the Republican-led House of Representatives cleared the aid, the Democratic-controlled Senate followed suit, passing it with bipartisan support on a 79-18 vote.
In a statement, Mr Biden said the move came at a “critical inflection point”.
“I will sign this bill into law and address the American people as soon as it reaches my desk tomorrow so we can begin sending weapons and equipment to Ukraine this week,” he said.
The passing of the bill, which also provides much-needed humanitarian assistance to Gaza, Sudan and Haiti, comes after months of acrimonious debate among politicians over how or even whether to help Ukraine defend itself.
UN URGES GAZA MASS GRAVE INQUIRY
The UN has called for an international investigation into reports of mass graves at two Gaza hospitals destroyed in Israeli sieges, saying war crimes may have been committed.
The United Nations rights office said it was “horrified” by the destruction of Gaza’s biggest hospital, Al-Shifa in Gaza City, and its second largest, the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Yunis.
On Monday, the Palestinian territories' Civil Defence agency said health workers had uncovered more than 200 bodies of people killed and buried at Nasser hospital, which was besieged by Israeli troops last month.
In early April the World Health Organisation said Al-Shifa had been destroyed by an Israeli siege, leaving an “empty shell” containing many bodies.
The UN rights office demanded “independent, effective and transparent investigations into the deaths”.
“Given the prevailing climate of impunity, this should include international investigators,” UN rights chief Volker Turk said in a statement.
Hospitals, which are protected under international law, have repeatedly come under Israeli bombardment over more than six months of war in Gaza.
Israel has accused Palestinian militant group Hamas of using Gazan medical facilities as command centres and to hold hostages abducted during its attack inside Israel on October 7.
Hamas has denied those claims.
“Hospitals are entitled to very special protection under international humanitarian law,” Turk pointed out.
“And the intentional killing of civilians, detainees and others who are hors de combat is a war crime.”
The UN rights office said it did not have access to independent information as to what had transpired at the two hospitals.
But spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani said efforts were under way to corroborate reports and details given by Gaza authorities.
The latter say 283 bodies were recovered from Nasser hospital, including 42 that had been identified.
“Victims had reportedly been buried deep in the ground and covered with waste,” she told reporters in Geneva.
Older people, women and wounded were reportedly among the dead, she said. Others were allegedly “found with their hands tied and stripped of their clothes”.
As for Al-Shifa, the Israeli army has said around 200 Palestinians were killed during its military operation at the hospital Shamdasani pointed to reports indicating that this toll “may be an underestimate”.
Around 30 bodies were reported found buried in two graves in the courtyard of Al-Shifa hospital.
“And there are reports that the hands of some of these bodies were also tied,” Shamdasani said.
So far, she said, the UN “can’t corroborate the exact figures” of people killed at the two hospitals, underlining: “This is why we are stressing the need for international investigations”.
“Clearly there have been multiple bodies discovered,” she said. The reports that some had their hands tied indicated “serious violations” of international law, she added.
“These need to be subjected to further investigation … They can’t just be more reports in this horrific war that just pass under the radar.”
ISRAEL-HAMAS WAR MARKS 200 DAYS
The Israel-Hamas war has entered its 200th day with fears mounting of an Israeli invasion in the overcrowded south of Gaza amid calls for hostages to be freed.
The Israeli army carried out intense shelling overnight of the Gaza neighbourhoods of Al-Tuffah, Shujaiya and Zeitun, AFP correspondents and witnesses said.
Shelling and loud explosions were heard in southwest Gaza and Khan Yunis in the south, while air strikes struck near the Bureij refugee camp and artillery fire hit the Nuseirat refugee camp.
The military said it struck several Hamas positions in south Gaza at night, with its warplanes hitting about 25 targets including military observation and launch posts.
Israel’s retaliation for the Hamas attack on October 7 has so far killed at least 34,183 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.
Global opposition has mounted over the civilian toll of Israel’s Gaza offensive which has turned vast civic areas into rubble and sparked fears of famine.
The United Nations says “multiple obstacles” continue to impede delivery of urgently needed aid for Gazans desperate for food, water, shelter and medicine.
But Netanyahu has vowed to press on with a planned offensive on Rafah, the town on the border with Egypt where most of Gaza’s 2.4 million population is now sheltering.
The Sun published satellite images showing Israel gearing up its troops and military trucks for a six week assault on the city of Rafah.
Citing Egyptian officials briefed on the Israeli plans, the Wall Street Journal said Israel was planning to move civilians from Rafah to nearby Khan Yunis.
The operation would last two to three weeks and be done in co-ordination with the United States, Egypt and other Arab countries including the United Arab Emirates, the Journal reported.
Israel would then send troops into Rafah gradually, targeting areas where Hamas’s leaders are thought to be hiding, in a military operation that would last six weeks, it added.
Foreign ministers of the G7 group of developed economies have said they oppose a “full-scale military operation in Rafah” because of the “catastrophic consequences” for civilians.
The US Senate is set to vote on an aid package for its allies, including Israel, that is expected to land on President Joe Biden’s desk for his approval by the end of the week.
It earmarks $US13 billion ($A20bn) for Israel in its war with Hamas and more than $US9 ($A13.8bn) for humanitarian assistance in Gaza.
PASSOVER OF ‘PAIN’
In Israel, many Seder tables will have an empty chair during celebrations of Passover, which is also known in Hebrew as the “holiday of freedom”.
Dalit Shtivi, the mother of Idan Shtivi, who was kidnapped from a music festival near Gaza on October 7, said she was struggling to cope without her son during Passover.
“It’s so hard. I cannot explain the pain. I cannot explain and think of celebrating without him,” she said in a statement issued by the Hostages and Missing Families Forum.
“I’m begging that there’ll be a deal and he’ll be back tonight, and he will celebrate with us … the freedom and the Pesach holiday.”
In a message marking the start of Passover, Netanyahu had said Israel’s “resolve remains unyielding to see all hostages back with their families”.
PROTEST TENSIONS ESCALATE ACROSS US CAMPUSES
Tensions have flared between pro-Palestinian student protesters and school administrators at several US universities, with in-person classes cancelled and demonstrators arrested.
Anti-Israel protesters armed with flares marched toward police headquarters in New York City late on Monday night after the number of students arrested at New York University reportedly rose to over 150.
New York police arrested around 100 students and staff members who were taking part in pro-Palestine protests on campus. NYPD violently stormed the university and tore down tents that had been part of an occupation.
— red. (@redstreamnet) April 23, 2024
Arrests also occurred at Yale University and Columbia… pic.twitter.com/CKazYyYrWB
Videos of the protests show demonstrators holding bright flares over their heads while marching toward One Police Plaza while others waved flags, banged drums and chanted, “Gaza.”
Other clips show NYPD officers in riot gear monitoring protesters who chant, “We will free Palestine, within our lifetime.”
By late Monday, more than 150 protesters had been arrested as the NYU camp was broken up, sources told a local news affiliate.
The protests, which began last week at Columbia University with a large group of demonstrators establishing a so-called “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” on school grounds, spread to other campuses, including Yale, MIT and others.
Some Jewish students at Columbia reported intimidation and anti-Semitism amid the days-long protest, which is calling for the prestigious New York institution to divest from companies with ties to Israel.
Classes were moved online Monday, with university president Nemat Shafik calling for a “reset” in an open letter to the school community.
“Anti-Semitic language, like any other language that is used to hurt and frighten people, is unacceptable and appropriate action will be taken.”
“To de-escalate the rancour and give us all a chance to consider next steps, I am announcing that all classes will be held virtually on Monday.”
More than 100 protesters were arrested last week after university authorities called the police onto the private campus, a move that escalated tensions and sparked a greater turnout over the weekend.
TERRORISM REPORT INTO UN AGENCY RELEASED
An independent review group on the UN agency for Palestinians found some “neutrality-related issues,” but noted Israel had yet to provide evidence for incendiary allegations that staff were members of terrorist organisations.
The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) remains “irreplaceable and indispensable to Palestinians’ human and economic development” added the 54-page report, which was led by French diplomat Catherine Colonna.
The review group was created following allegations made by Israel in January that some UNRWA staff may have participated in the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks.
In the weeks that followed, numerous donor states suspended or paused some $450 million in funding.
Many have since resumed funding, including Australia, Sweden, Canada, Japan, the EU and France – while others, including the United States and Britain – have not.
Congress passed a bill signed into law by President Joe Biden last month that blocks US funding until March 2025.
UNRWA began operations in 1950 and provides services to nearly 6 million people across Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, the Gaza Strip and the West Bank, including East Jerusalem.
ISRAEL ‘OBLITERATES’ GAZA HEALTH SYSTEM; ‘SIGNS OF TORTURE’
The Israeli army said that its jets had targeted “a cell of terrorists posing an immediate threat” to soldiers in central Gaza.
Doctors at al-Aqsa Hospital in the central Gaza city of Deir al-Balah told AFP that six people were wounded in an Israeli air strike on Monday.
A mosque in the nearby Al-Bureij refugee camp was destroyed in a strike, with footage from the scene showing multiple levels of the building collapsed in front of a still-standing minaret.
“At 1:15am, all of a sudden we saw fire, debris and destruction all around us,” camp resident Mohammed Musaad told AFP.
“We started running and found the mosque destroyed.”
Gaza’s crossings and borders authority said 34 Palestinian detainees had been released from Israeli prison since Monday morning. Authority spokesman Hisham Adwan said some of the prisoners showed “signs of torture”.
The Israeli military has previously denied such mistreatment. Israeli soldiers have rounded up hundreds of Gazans during the war against Hamas, holding them without charge before releasing some in groups.
Israel’s war in Gaza has “obliterated” the Palestinian territory’s health system, a UN expert said on Monday.
Tlaleng Mofokeng, the United Nations special rapporteur on the right to health, accused Israel of treating human rights as an “a la carte menu”.
Just days into the war, “the medical infrastructure was irreparably damaged”, she told reporters in Geneva.
Amid the unrelenting Israeli bombardment of Gaza, healthcare providers had for months been working under dire conditions with very limited access to medical supplies, she said.
“This has been a war on the right to health from the beginning,” said Mofokeng, who is an independent expert appointed by the UN Human Rights Council but who does not speak on behalf of the United Nations.
“The health system in Gaza has been completely obliterated and the right to health has been decimated at every level”.
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Originally published as Israel-Hamas war: Gaza baby saved from dying mother’s womb dies
Read related topics:Israel Conflict
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