Israel-Hamas war: Gaza baby saved from dying mother’s womb dies

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.

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.”