Tragic Discovery: Deceased and Decomposing Infants Found in Evacuated Gaza Hospital ICU - Here's What We Know
Infants tragically discovered lifeless and decaying in a Gaza hospital's evacuated ICU Shockingly haunting, their delicate bodies remained connected to life-saving wires and tubes, while untouched supplies lay nearby
Caution: The content of the following story contains graphic material and may be disturbing to some readers.
The ICU ward at Al-Nasr hospital presents a haunting scene. The small bodies of babies, some still connected to life-saving wires and tubes, lay motionless in their hospital beds. Beside them, milk bottles and spare diapers remain untouched on the sheets.
On November 27, Gaza reporter Mohamed Baalousha from Al Mashhad, a UAE-based news outlet, filmed a video inside the hospital and shared an unblurred version with CNN. The distressing footage shows the remains of at least four infants, three of whom are still connected to hospital machines. The bodies of the babies seem to be decaying, with little more than skeletons left in some of the beds. Additionally, flies and maggots can be seen crawling across the skin of one child.
Here is what CNN found
The details surrounding one of the most disturbing videos to surface from the conflict in Gaza remain shrouded in uncertainty. However, after meticulously gathering available information, conducting interviews, analyzing published statements, and reviewing video footage, a chaotic picture emerges of hospital personnel endeavoring to shield their most vulnerable patients, trapped in the midst of a fierce battle, while awaiting assistance that never materialized.
CNN was able to geolocate the video to Al-Nasr hospital in northern Gaza, an area that had been difficult for journalists to reach due to intense fighting. During the seven-day truce, Baalousha managed to access the hospital and capture footage of the devastation. Starting in early November, the Al-Nasr and Al-Rantisi children's hospitals, which are part of the same complex, became the focal point of the conflict between Israeli and Hamas forces.
Several medical personnel and health officials from Al-Nasr reported that they were forced to quickly evacuate the hospital on November 10, following orders from Israeli forces. They recounted the distressing situation of having to abandon young children in the ICU due to the lack of safe transportation options.
A hospital doctor, who requested anonymity, informed CNN that two children, ages two and nine months, had passed away before the evacuation, but three children were still connected to respirators. One of the surviving children was just two months old. The doctor also mentioned that several infants in the ICU had genetic disorders. The current condition of the children left behind, both during the fighting at the hospital and during the evacuation, is unclear.
Dr. Mustafa al-Kahlout, head of Al-Nasr and Al-Rantisi pediatric hospitals, stated in a video on November 9 that Al-Nasr hospital had sustained significant damage after being "struck twice." He also revealed that the supply of oxygen to the ICU had been cut off, leading to the death of at least one patient, and putting others at risk of death.
It is uncertain whether the oxygen cylinders beside the hospital beds in the video were working or if the supplies had been depleted.
"The situation is dire, we are surrounded... ambulances are unable to access the hospital, and those that attempted to reach Al-Nasr were attacked," Kahlout stated, urging international organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to intervene and rescue the medical staff and patients still in the ICU.
A video posted on social media on November 9, verified by CNN, was recorded from inside Al-Nasr hospital and seems to depict the aftermath of the building being targeted.
On November 10, another video showed an Israel Defense Forces (IDF) tank positioned outside Al-Nasr, suggesting IDF activity in the area. Another video from the same date captured civilians hoisting makeshift white flags in an attempt to escape the hospital amidst gunfire, only to be compelled to retreat back inside. The source of the gunfire in the video is indiscernible.
Satellite images analyzed by CNN on November 11 reveal large craters surrounding the hospital complex, suggesting that the area had been targeted by bombings, making it challenging to carry out evacuations. Additionally, an audio recording of a conversation between a senior official at Al-Rantisi hospital and an officer from COGAT indicates that Israeli forces directed hospital patients and staff to evacuate.
The IDF released a recording on November 11 in which an Israeli officer assures a hospital official that ambulances will be arranged. The hospital official expresses concern that ambulances cannot reach the hospital, to which the officer responds by saying, "I'll arrange coordination with the primary aid center. Don't worry, I'm near the army, it will be okay."
"Will the ambulances take the patients and the medical staff?" the hospital official asks.
"No problem," the COGAT officer responds, in the recording.
The hospital official confirms with the COGAT officer that they are aware of the evacuation plans for both Al-Nasr and Al-Rantisi hospitals, to which the COGAT officer responds affirmatively. However, the hospital officials later report that the ambulances never arrived.
During the evacuation, Kahlout reported in a news conference on November 14 that numerous patients had to be transported by their families because ambulances were unable to reach the hospital. He also mentioned that three children remained in the ICU, connected to hospital equipment but lacking oxygen.
In a November 10 audio recording made public by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), a nurse volunteering in a personal capacity revealed that the hospital had been shelled, causing damage to multiple floors, water tanks, and crucial electricity and oxygen stations.
Palestinians stand by buildings destroyed in Israeli airstrikes in Deir al-Balah, Saturday, Oct. 14, 2023. Amnesty's report focused on two strikes in this neighborhood.
Hatem Moussa/AP
An investigation by Amnesty claims that a US-made weapon was used in two Israeli airstrikes in Gaza, resulting in the death of 43 civilians. According to a nurse at Al-Nasr, the staff were given only 30 minutes to evacuate by the IDF, and no ambulances were able to reach the hospital. For security reasons, CNN has chosen not to identify the nurse.
"We had just walked out when we heard shooting all around us," he mentioned in the recording. After that, he recounted how someone from the IDF assured him, "I'll make sure you get safe passage. You have from 11:30am to 12 noon."
"We proceeded to walk out with our hands raised, holding white flags and escorting families and children," the nurse described in the recording.
He reported that he was able to take one baby with him as he escaped and handed the child to an ambulance headed for the Al-Shifa hospital. However, according to the nurse, four children were left behind in the ICU, a discrepancy from the number provided by Kahlout.
In the recording, he expressed, "To leave my patient dying in front of my eyes is the hardest thing I have ever experienced, it's indescribable. They broke our hearts. We couldn't help them, we couldn't take them. We barely left ourselves with our children. We are civilians, we are a medical crew, we are displaced civilians."
In the last week, CNN attempted to interview medical personnel and hospital administrators at Al-Nasr, but they either expressed fear or could not be contacted. Dr. Mohammad Zaqout, the director of Gaza's hospitals under the control of Hamas' Ministry of Health, informed CNN that hospital staff were compelled to evacuate by the IDF.
"We had no choice but to leave them behind to perish because we lacked a safe way to evacuate them," Zaqout explained. "We told them that the children were bedridden and couldn't be evacuated. While we were forced to leave, we held other children in our arms."
The IDF has vehemently denied any responsibility for the deaths of the children in the Al-Nasr ICU. "Since the IDF did not carry out any operations inside the Al-Nasr hospital, these accusations are not only untrue but also a disturbing manipulation of innocent lives, used to spread harmful misinformation," the IDF stated in a response to CNN.
CNN repeatedly asked why ambulances were not provided for the evacuation, as promised by the COGAT officer in a recorded conversation with the hospital official, and if the IDF was aware of children left in the ICU, as Zaqout alleged. The IDF did not directly respond. During an online Q&A for journalists on Saturday, IDF spokesman Doron Spielman dismissed the story as a "rumor."
Spielman stated that there were no premature babies that decomposed due to IDF actions, and it is unlikely that any babies decomposed at all. He emphasized that Hamas is responsible for Nasr hospital, as Israel is not occupying it. Israel has accused Hamas of using hospitals for strategic purposes and holding hostages.
Zaqout refutes the accusation and has consistently urged "impartial organizations, human rights groups, and media outlets to visit the hospitals and confirm firsthand that they are exclusively dedicated to civilian and humanitarian purposes."
CNN is unable to verify the condition of the children when they arrived at the hospital. However, forensic scientist Stefan Schmitt from Florida International University, who reviewed the video for CNN, stated that the infants' level of decomposition was advanced.
Schmitt stated that he believed the room had not been disturbed since the children were left. "Those remains decomposed in situ, meaning they decomposed there on those beds," he explained. "You can see that from the bodily fluids that have leaked out over the time of decomposition."
He also mentioned that one of the corpses seemed to be wrapped in fabric, possibly a shroud, and observed that there was no medical equipment attached to the body, indicating that the body may have already been dead or severely injured. Schmitt pointed out that the room appeared to have been abandoned in a hurry, and noted the presence of an infant car seat and what appeared to be a bag packed for one of the children next to its bed.
According to a statement from the Gaza Ministry of Health controlled by Hamas, the Al-Nasr nursing staff was instructed to leave by the IDF, who informed them that the ICRC would be arriving to evacuate the patients. However, the statement reveals that the decomposed bodies of the babies were later discovered in their beds, emphasizing that these infants spent their final moments and passed away in isolation.
The ICRC informed CNN that it had received "several requests" for hospital evacuations in northern Gaza, but due to the "security situation," it was "not engaged in any operations or evacuations, nor did teams commit to doing so." The ICRC also described the footage of the deceased children as an "unspeakable tragedy." This report includes contributions from CNN's Gianluca Mezzofiore, Nic Robertson, Celine Alkhadi, Katie Polglase, Mostafa Salem, and Sahar Akbarzai.
