Urgent Pleas: Heartbreaking Names Reflect Gaza Parents' Terrifying Reality Amidst Israel-Hamas Conflict
The article captures the heart-wrenching reality of Gazan parents amidst the Israel-Hamas war Three lifeless children lie on a cold steel tray, their trousers rolled up to reveal names inscribed in black ink on their innocent skin, a haunting testament to the impossibility of evacuation
This story includes explicit descriptions. In a Gaza hospital morgue, three children's bodies are seen lying on a steel tray. Their trousers are pulled up, revealing writing on their skin in black ink.
Dr. Abdul Rahman Al Masri, head of the emergency department at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, informed CNN that there were instances where parents inscribed their children's names on their legs and abdomen. Concerned about potential unforeseen circumstances, parents resorted to this measure as a means of ensuring their children's identification would not be compromised.
Al Masri added that this creates a constant sense of being targeted, leaving them vulnerable to injury or martyrdom. The presence of black ink serves as a visual representation of the fear and despair experienced by parents in the heavily populated enclave, as Israel persistently carries out airstrikes in response to the Hamas attacks on October 7th.
The supervisor of the room at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, where corpses are prepared for burial, referred to Sunday as "a remarkable day." Refusing to disclose his identity, he informed CNN that the death toll overnight, from Saturday to Sunday, surpassed 200, reiterating Dr. Al Masri's statements.
Today, we observed a growing trend among parents in Gaza: they are now writing their children's names on their legs in order to facilitate identification after airstrikes or in case they become separated. This emerging practice has become essential as numerous children are currently missing, some with severe head injuries, making it extremely difficult to recognize them. The act of writing their names on their legs is the only effective method of identification available.
In the past two weeks, numerous children have been rescued from the collapsed buildings destroyed by airstrikes in an area known for its high population density. Tragically, their injuries have left them unrecognizable.
Amidst this turmoil, hospitals in Gaza are facing severe shortages of medicine, water, and electricity. To make matters worse, there is an increasing number of injured Palestinians in need of medical attention, as confirmed by doctors and healthcare workers speaking to CNN.
A Palestinian doctor treats a prematurely born baby at Al Aqsa Hospital in Deir el-Balah, Gaza, on October 22, 2023.
Dr. Iyad Issa Abu Zaher, the director general of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah, Gaza, reported that over 300 individuals sought assistance at the hospital following a bombardment by Israel that occurred from Saturday night to Sunday.
The situation has reached catastrophic levels, he exclaimed.
"No hospital in the entire world can accommodate such a large number of injured individuals. There is an acute shortage of both space and hospital beds for these injuries. The injured individuals are crowded outside operation theater rooms, stacked on top of one another, patiently awaiting their turn for treatment," he expressed his sorrow.
Two weeks ago, Israel imposed a comprehensive blockade on Gaza in retaliation for a Hamas attack. They carried out extensive airstrikes on the area and cut off the entire population's access to essential resources such as food, water, and electricity.
Tragically, the Hamas assault resulted in the deaths of at least 1,400 individuals, with the majority being innocent civilians. This dreadful event stands as the most devastating massacre of Jews since the Holocaust. Additionally, over 200 people were taken hostage.
Since October 7, the death toll in Gaza has surpassed 4,650, with over 14,245 people injured, as reported by the Palestinian Ministry of Health in Gaza. It is alarming to note that half of Gaza's population, which stands at 2.2 million, comprises children. Amidst this devastating situation, hospitals are grappling with immense difficulties, ranging from managing the large influx of injured individuals to obtaining crucial medical resources, all while facing constant bombardment and dwindling fuel supplies for their generators.
According to humanitarian groups, the first aid trucks that entered Gaza from Egypt over the weekend were inadequate and fell far short of what is required. The World Health Organization expressed their dissatisfaction, stating on Saturday that it was merely a small starting point and insufficiency.
The UN agency assisting Palestine refugees issued a warning on Sunday, stating that their fuel supplies would be depleted within three days.
In a video published by the Ministry of Health under the control of Hamas, Dr. Fuad al-Bulbul, the leader of the neonatal department at Al-Shifa hospital in Gaza, raised concerns about the potential loss of numerous infants under his supervision if the fuel supply were to vanish.
"If the electricity supply is interrupted, the consequences within this unit would be catastrophic. The high dependency of numerous infants on ventilators would result in the unfortunate loss of life, as we possess the capability to save only a limited number of babies, rather than all," Al-Bulbul stated in the video.
Wounded Palestinians sit in al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on Oct. 17, 2023.
Abed Khaled/AP
His department accommodates a total of 45 incubators and specializes in the care of pre-term infants born from high-risk pregnancies. As of Sunday, the hospital had exhausted its stock of surfactant and caffeine citrate – both widely employed for alleviating respiratory problems among premature infants.
Most infants are critically ill and his exhausted medical team has worked 18 straight days, he added.
Impossible to evacuate
Israel has consistently urged Gaza's northern residents to evacuate in anticipation of an upcoming Israeli military ground operation. The Palestinian Red Crescent reported that the Israeli armed forces have given three evacuation instructions on Friday for the Al-Quds hospital. The hospital currently tends to over 400 patients and serves as a refuge for approximately 12,000 displaced civilians.
"We lack the resources to ensure their safe evacuation. The majority of patients have severe injuries," stated Nebal Farsakh, spokesperson for CNN on Sunday.
Expressing concern, Farsakh highlighted that 24 hospitals, including Al-Quds, face the imminent danger of being bombed as a result of Israeli evacuation mandates.
CNN has not been able to independently verify this number. Additionally, the administration of Al-Quds Hospitals reported that the Israeli army had been in contact with them multiple times, pressing for an urgent evacuation of the hospital in anticipation of an airstrike during the night.
When asked to comment, the IDF stated that it had urged residents in the northern area of the Gaza Strip to evacuate as a measure to reduce harm to civilians. The IDF further asserted that Hamas deliberately places its assets in civilian areas and exploits the residents of the Gaza Strip as human shields.
