A baby girl was rescued from the womb of a Palestinian woman who was killed along with her husband and daughter in an Israeli attack on the Gaza city of Rafah. About 19 people were killed overnight in intensified strikes, Palestinian health officials have said.
The deceased, killed in strikes on two houses, included 13 children from one family, officials said.
The baby, weighing 1.4 kg was delivered in an emergency C-section with stable condition and improving, Mohammed Salama, a doctor caring for her told media.
Her mother, Sabreen Al Sakani, had been 30 weeks pregnant.
The baby was kept in an incubator in a Rafah hospital with the words “The baby of the martyr Sabreen Al Sakani” written on tape across her chest.
Sakani’s young daughter Malak, who was killed in the strike, had wanted to name her new sister Rouh, meaning spirit in Arabic, said her uncle Rami Al Sheikh. “The little girl Malak was happy that her sister was coming to the world,” he said.
The baby would stay in hospital for three to four weeks, said Salama, the doctor. “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.
The 13 children were killed in a strike on the second home, belonging to the Abdel Aal family, according to Palestinian health officials. Two women were also killed in that strike.
“Did you see one man in all of those killed?” said Saqr Abdel Aal, a Palestinian man whose family were among the dead, grieving over the body of a child in a white shroud.
“All are women and children,” he said. “My entire identity has been wiped out, with my wife, children and everyone.”
Mohammad al Behairi said his daughter and grandchild were still under the rubble. “It’s a feeling of sadness, depression, we have nothing left in this life to cry for, what feeling shall we have? When you lose your children, when you lose the closest of your loved ones, how will your feeling be?” he said.
