Connected to medical monitors, two emaciated infants sleep side by side in the same incubator at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza. Sometimes, three babies share this equipment designed for only one.
To be born in Gaza, a territory ravaged by Israeli bombing, is to enter the world facing a mountain of hardships. For premature or sick babies, the situation is critical, as hospitals lack everything.
“ The situation is catastrophic. " And " continues to deteriorate«"That sums it up," says Hatem Dhahir, head of the neonatology department.« We no longer have any incubators available and many babies need oxygen.«" he told AFP.
The war that Israel is waging against Hamas, in response to the attack carried out by the Palestinian movement on October 7, 2023, has destroyed or damaged many hospitals and largely annihilated the health system in Gaza.
Restrictions imposed by Israel on the entry of goods into the Palestinian territory have also contributed to a shortage of basic medical supplies and specialized equipment, Palestinian doctors and NGOs point out.
The situation is all the more untenable as premature births have seen a marked increase in recent months, explains Dr. Dhahir.
In March, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that 701,000 newborns were born prematurely or with insufficient weight.
Read also In Gaza, malnutrition among pregnant women and babies will have "generational effects".
«"Lack of space"»
Medical staff check the vital signs of premature babies at Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis, Palestinian territories, on September 7, 2026 (Credit: AFP/Archives – Bashar Taleb)
In a report published in June, a UN-mandated commission of inquiry estimated that food shortages, lack of medicine and the collapse of the health system in Gaza had had major consequences for pregnancies.
“ In this context, rates of miscarriages, stillbirths, low birth weight, and birth defects have increased«", according to this document.
This influx of fragile babies forces medical teams to take risks by placing two, or even three, infants in the same incubator to save as many as possible, even at the risk of taking risks.
These incubators allow newborns to be kept alive in a sterile, heated environment to support their incomplete development.
But placing multiple babies in these devices designed to accommodate only one degrades the quality of care and increases the likelihood of spreading infections.
Nasser Hospital is trying to transfer infants that cannot be accommodated to other facilities, but they too are "« always full«" laments Dr. Dhahir.
And hospitals are no longer able to handle the most difficult cases, leading to dramatic situations.
A baby girl was born at the end of August with her aorta and pulmonary artery reversed, a serious heart defect that prevents the blood from being properly oxygenated and requires rapid surgical intervention.
Mona Ahmad, who accompanied the little girl to the hospital, explained to AFP that the facility kept her in the neonatal unit for a week before releasing her to her.« lack of space“.
The exit report« indicates that it needs to be transferred, as there is absolutely no treatment »"It's possible at Nasser Hospital," explains this tutor.« We don't understand why she was removed from the incubator.«" she said, distraught.
Read also Gaza: Nearly one in six children severely malnourished, a study estimates
«" Resilience "»
An employee of Nasser Hospital feeds a premature baby a bottle in Khan Yunis, southern Gaza, on September 7, 2026 (Credit: AFP/Archives – Bashar Taleb)
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Beyond hospitals, the entire civilian infrastructure in Gaza has been largely destroyed, including facilities providing access to clean water and electricity, further increasing the risk of disease.
To help Gaza's neonatal services hold up, UNICEF has provided nearly 100 incubators to six hospitals since October 2023.
For now, "« "It only holds up thanks to the resilience of the doctors and (patients).", acknowledges, aware of the inadequacy, the head of communications for the Palestinian territories at UNICEF, Toby Fricker, upon returning from a mission to Gaza.
Despite the immense difficulties, babies survive mainly thanks to the resourcefulness of the medical teams.
Thaer Harzallah is the father of a baby boy born with a red blood cell problem. His child spent a month in the neonatal unit and« went through a great ordeal«"He is now cured and the family has been able to leave the hospital," he told AFP.
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