A baby girl was born to a Palestinian woman who died along with her husband and daughter in an Israeli attack on the Gaza city of Rafah, where 19 people were killed overnight in intensified attacks. Palestinian health officials said.
Among the dead, killed in attacks on two houses, were 13 children from one family, they said. The baby, who weighed 1.4 kg and was born by emergency Caesarean section, was stable and gradually improving, said Mohammed Salama, the doctor treating her. Her mother, Sabreen Al-Sakani, was 30 weeks pregnant. The baby was placed in an incubator at a Rafah hospital alongside another baby, with the words “The baby of martyr Sabreen Al-Sakani” written on adhesive tape on her chest.
Sakani’s young daughter, Malak, who died in the attack, wanted to name her new sister Rouh, which means spirit in Arabic, her uncle Rami Al-Sheikh said. “Little Malak was happy that her sister came into the world,” she said.
The baby will remain in the hospital for three or four weeks, said doctor Salama. “After that we will see how it goes and where this child will go: to the family, to the aunt, the uncle or the grandparents. Here is the biggest tragedy. Even if this girl survives, she was born an orphan,” she said. .
All 13 children were killed in an attack on the second home, belonging to the Abdel Aal family, according to Palestinian health officials. Two women also died in that attack. Asked about casualties in Rafah, an Israeli military spokesman said several militant targets were attacked in Gaza, including military compounds, launch sites and armed people.
Mohammad al-Behairi said his daughter and grandson were still under the rubble. “It is a feeling of sadness, depression, we have nothing left in this life to cry about, what feeling will we have? When you lose your children, when you lose your closest loved ones, what will your feeling be like?” he said.
More than half of Gaza’s 2.3 million residents have crowded into Rafah, seeking refuge from the Israeli offensive that has devastated much of the Gaza Strip over the past six months.
Israel is threatening a ground offensive in the area, where Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has said fighters from the Hamas militant group must be eliminated to ensure Israel’s victory in the war. President Joe Biden has urged Israel not to launch a large-scale offensive in Rafah to avoid further Palestinian civilian casualties.
Palestinian health authorities say more than 34,000 people have been killed in Israel’s attack, which began after Hamas fighters attacked Israel on October 7, killing about 1,200 people and kidnapping 253 others, according to Israeli counts.
The Palestinian Health Ministry said on Sunday that Israeli military strikes killed 48 Palestinians and wounded 79 others across the Gaza Strip in the past 24 hours. Abu Jehad, a Gaza City resident who is sheltering in Rafah with his family, said he feared the Israelis would invade Rafah unless a ceasefire was reached and he would have to flee once again. “We are trapped and everyone is waiting their turn to die,” said Abu Jehad, reached by phone.
