A baby girl was delivered safely from the womb of a Palestinian woman identified as Sabreen Al- Sheikh killed alongside her husband and daughter following an Israeli attack in the Gaza City of Rafah.
A total of 19 people were killed in the strikes on Sunday 21 April including 13 children from one family, Palestinian health officials said.
Until that moment, the family was like so many other Palestinians trying to shelter from the war in Gaza’s southernmost city of Rafah.
Little Sabreen Jouda delivered in an emergency Cesarean-section was near death herself, fighting to breathe.
“We tried to rescue the patient after we realized that she was pregnant and had to do an emergency caesarean to save the baby,” Dr Ahmad Fawzi said.
“Thanks to God, we managed to save the baby.”
Palestinian Baby Born
In a video shared by Sky News, Sabreen’s small body can be seen laying in the recovery position on a small bed as medical workers gently pumped air into her open mouth.
The baby was later placed in an incubator in a Rafah hospital alongside another infant, with the words “The baby of the martyr Sabreen Al-Sakani” written on tape across her chest.
Also Read: Blacki-sh Actress Narrates How Kenyan Doctors Saved Her in 9-hour Surgery
Dr. Mohammed Salama head of unit and the doctor caring for the baby while speaking to the press said Sabreen weighing 1.4 kg (3.09 lb) was stable and improving gradually.
“We can say there is some progress in her health condition, but the situation is still at risk,” Salama said.
“This child should have been in the mother’s womb at this time, but she was deprived of this right.”
The doctor described her as a premature orphan girl, adding that she is set to stay in hospital for three to four weeks.
“After that we will see about her leaving, and where this child will go, to the family, to the aunt or uncle or grandparents. Here is the biggest tragedy. Even if this child survives, she was born an orphan,” he said.
Also Read: Patient Speaks After KNH Doctors Perform First Ever Special Kidney Surgery
Israel-Gaza War
According to the Health Ministry in Gaza, at least two-thirds of the more than 34,000 Palestinians killed since the war began have been children and women.
Over half of Gaza’s 2.3 million people have crowded into Rafah, seeking shelter from the Israeli offensive that has laid waste to much of the Gaza Strip over the last six months.
Palestinian health authorities say more than 34,000 people have been killed in Israel’s assault, which began after Hamas fighters attacked Israel on Oct. 7, killing some 1,200 people and abducting another 253, according to Israeli tallies.
The Palestinian health ministry said on Sunday that Israeli military strikes killed 48 Palestinians and wounded 79 others across the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours.
