UNICEF: The Situation Of Mothers And Babies In Gaza Is Never This Bad

Israeli tanks operate in the Gaza Strip. (Source: Israel Defense Forces)

JAKARTA - Mother and newborn in the Gaza Strip, Palestine is facing dire conditions as hospitals run out of space and critical supplies amid increasing Israeli military attacks, UN agency UN UNICEF warned on Friday.

"The situation of mothers and newborns in Gaza has never been this bad. At Nasser Hospital, we saw hospital corridors filled with women who had just given birth," UNICEF spokesman James Elder told reporters in Geneva via video link from Gaza.

Meanwhile, the World Health Organization (WHO) also sounded a warning, saying Gaza's health care system was on the verge of collapse.

WHO Representatives in Rik Peeperkorn's occupied Palestinian Territory said he had never seen Nasser Hospital so crowded, while thousands of patients fleeing Israeli attacks in Gaza City heading south.

Separately, medical sources reported that a newborn died on Friday at Al-Helou Hospital in Al-Nasr neighborhood, Gaza City.

Medical sources reported the baby died in hospital child care rooms. At the same time, three premature babies were evacuated from the hospital to medical centers in the southern Gaza Strip, coordinating with WHO.

Ten premature babies are still in the child care room at Al-Helou Hospital, amid severe difficulties in reaching or leaving the facility.

Israeli troops on Monday surrounded Al-Shifa Hospital and Al-Helou International Hospital in Gaza City and attacked them with heavy artillery fire, despite dozens of patients and refugees inside. Al-Helou Hospital has been under siege from all directions.

Al-Helou Hospital consists of several departments, including oncology units and baby rooms, and currently houses more than 90 people, including medical staff and patients trapped inside, amid outages of total communications and internet services.