TOT FEARS
Fears for 36 newborn babies in incubators in Gaza City as Hamas rejects Israel’s fuel offer
Meanwhile, Israel also struck Hezbollah terror targets on its northern border with Lebanon
TIME was running out last night for 36 newborn babies fighting for their lives in a Gaza hospital as Israel’s war on terror raged outside.
Troops surrounded the Al-Shifa Hospital convinced Hamas leaders are hiding in a bunker below and using its patients as human shields.
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But doctors say they have now run out of power and the World Health Organisation confirmed Al-Shifa, which was Gaza’s last working hospital, was “no longer functioning”.
Israel’s Defence Force left 300 litres of fuel at an agreed drop-off point so it could run vital equipment such as incubators providing life-saving oxygen to newborns. But terror chiefs blocked the hospital from using it.
Lt Col Richard Hecht, of the IDF, told The Sun: “We understand the complexity of it and the severity.
“If they take the fuel it will give them the time and energy they need. But in the meantime we’ll look for other solutions.
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“We will try to facilitate and assist. To do that you need a partner on the other side. Sadly, Hamas is meddling in this.
“It’s very tragic and sad. We are talking as much as we can to the hospital. It’s also a risk for them to speak to us.”
The Hamas-run Health Ministry claimed the fuel left by the IDF would have provided less than an hour of electricity, and that the hospital typically uses 24,000 litres a day. The hospital’s intensive care unit and surgical theatre are now running entirely on solar energy.
British-trained surgeon Ahmed Mofeed, 36, told his brother Omar, 33, that corpses were piling up in the compound because it was too dangerous to bury them.
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Omar, from west London, said: “For two days we heard nothing from Ahmed then suddenly we got through to him.
“He is trapped. He said anyone who goes outside or looks outside a window risks getting shot by Israeli snipers.
“They have been surrounded for three days. He said it smells of death because of the bodies.”
Israeli top brass say they would help to evacuate the babies, but the newborns’ heartbreaking plight will increase pressure to offer a humanitarian pause.
The IDF action was sparked by the October 7 massacre, in which Hamas killed 1,200 Jews. The outrage also stoked attacks by Iran-backed terror group Hezbollah, based on Israel’s northern border with Lebanon.
Israeli sources told the Wall Street Journal the chances of a full-scale war with Lebanon had increased in recent days.
Up to 20 Israelis were hurt in multiple attacks on Sunday. In one, 14 civilians were wounded by anti-tank fire in Dovev.
In a separate incident, seven soldiers were injured by mortar fire in the Manara area.
Israel retaliated with a series of airstrikes targeting Hezbollah military infrastructure.
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In a sign of the escalating tension, Israel’s Defence Minister Yoav Gallant warned: “What we can do in Gaza, we can also do in Beirut.”
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