Israel-Gaza: An Israeli attack saves a baby from a dead mother's womb

Israel-Gaza: An Israeli attack saves a baby from a dead mother's womb

Before Sabreen could cradle the infant or see her eyes, she was gone.

The young woman had gone through seven and a half months of pregnancy with her kid. Sabreen prayed that the family's luck would remain until the conflict ended, even though they were living in continuous danger for days and nights.

That good fortune disappeared an hour before midnight on April 20th, in the boom and fury of an explosion.

Three-year-old Malak, Sabreen's second daughter, and her husband were sleeping when the Israelis detonated a bomb on the al-Sakani family house in Rafah.

Rescue personnel discovered the baby still alive in her mother's womb, but Sabreen had sustained severe injuries and her husband and Malak had died.

After rushing Sabreen to the hospital, the physicians delivered the baby via an emergency Caesarean section.

Even though Sabreen was beyond hope, medical professionals tried to revive her by gently massaging her chest to encourage respiration. Her lungs were filled with air.

"She was born in severe respiratory distress," said Dr. Mohammed Salama, who oversees the emergency neo-natal section at Emirati Hospital in Rafah.

Despite her little weight of 1.4 kg (3.1 lbs), the infant made it through the difficult birthing process.

Using a piece of tape, the doctor inscribed, "the baby of the martyr Sabreen al-Sakani" and taped it on her body. And they put her in an incubator.

Dr. Salama said, "We can say there is some progress in her health condition."

"Yet there is still danger in the scenario. The initial cause of this respiratory distress syndrome was an early delivery. The woman was denied the opportunity to carry her child to term, even though it was her right to do so."

Her stay in the hospital might last up to one month, according to the doctor.

"We'll see about her going after that.This is the greatest catastrophe. "This child was born an orphan, even if she survives," Dr. Salama said.

The newborn has no parents remaining to give it a name. Arabic for soul or spirit, Rouh is the name her deceased sister Malak had intended for her. However, in honor of her mother, she has adopted the name Sabreen.

The remaining family members congregated in the hospital, torn between their sorrow and rage and the realities of setting up a new family life for the abandoned infant Sabreen.

Mirvat al-Sakani, the baby's maternal grandmother, alluded to the "injustice and slander" that had befallen those who "have nothing to do with anything".

"My daughter was pregnant and had a foetus in her body, as well as her daughter is with her, and my son was likewise with them," she said.

"My kid turned into body pieces, and they still haven't located him. They fail to identify him. Why are they aiming at them? We're not sure how or why. We're not sure. They only prey on ladies and kids."

Rami al-Sheikh, the baby's uncle, revealed that her father had been a barber alongside him.

"What's their fault, a whole family removed from the civil registry and the only survivor is a small baby girl?" said the man.

"These people are regular citizens."

Ahalam al-Kurdi, Sabreen's biological grandmother, pledged to nurture the kid. She is my soulmate and my adore. She embodies her father's memories. I'll see to her needs."

According to the Gaza health ministry, which is under the control of Hamas, out of the 34,000 individuals who have died in Gaza since the conflict started on October 7, at least two thirds are women and children.

According to Israeli estimates, over 1,200 Israelis and foreigners—mostly civilians—were slain and 253 more were taken as prisoners back to Gaza before Israel began its attack.

The Israeli military has charged Hamas of utilizing the populace as a human shield, despite its insistence that it does not target people.

On the evening of April 20, 15 youngsters from the extended al-Aal family also perished in the Israeli airstrikes on Rafah.

Abed al-Aal, the father of some of the children, said that after his wife and all of his children were slain, his identity had been obliterated.

"Point out one fellow for me to see. "They are all women and children," he said.

Following the attacks, the Israeli military published a statement to the BBC stating: "At the given times, the IDF struck several military targets of the terrorist organizations in Gaza including military compounds, launch posts, and armed terrorists."

After being ordered to flee southward for safety early in the conflict by the Israeli Defense Forces, an estimated 1.4 million Palestinians are now crammed into Rafah.

However, conjecture has increased in recent days over the imminent entry of Israeli soldiers into Rafah to carry on the war against Hamas.

Instead of invading Rafah completely, which may spark an even worse humanitarian situation, the US has urged Israel to take a targeted approach.