in the south of the Gaza Strip, “some women give birth in the street”, denounces a doctor

In Rafah, on the border with Egypt, where displaced people are flocking, women are giving birth in deplorable sanitary conditions, waiting for hours in makeshift tents.

Ibrahim is only a few hours old. He was born in Rafah, on the Egyptian border, under a tent. Her grandmother, Samia, is angry. She wonders what the child did to live in such an environment: “In what conditions will this child grow up?”she blurted.

Despite American, Egyptian and Qatari attempts, the war continues in Gaza: talks are at a standstill between Israel and Hamas. The town of Khan Younes remains the epicenter of clashes between the IDF and the Palestinian Islamist organization in southern Gaza. The south of the enclave, near the border with Egypt, has become a huge camp for displaced people where life continues as best it can, despite the fighting nearby. Under makeshift tents, women give birth in deplorable sanitary conditions.

“His mother is lying on the ground. There isn’t even a mattress. She doesn’t have access to the toilet. We are in the street, in the cold. We have no clothes for him, no blankets “This child is innocent. His father, we were told was dead and others tell us he may be in Israeli hands.” denounces Samia, the grandmother of little Ibrahim.

“Just after giving birth, mothers must return to their tent”

According to the UN, 1.7 million Gazans have been displaced since the start of the war, 60% of them crowded into Rafah. There are more of them every day with the intensification of the fighting in Khan Younes and there is only one maternity ward. It is headed by doctor Haidar Abu Sneymeh.

“I have 50 beds and two operating theaters. During the last 24 hours, we managed 250 deliveries. I have neither enough staff nor enough equipment to deal with all that.”

Haidar Abu Sneymeh

at franceinfo

“We don’t even have any sutures anymore, adds the doctor. Some women give birth on the street and those who are admitted give birth on the floor in hospital corridors. I put two babies per incubator. Just after giving birth, mothers must return to their tent, without exception. Even those who have had a cesarean section must leave after ten or twelve hours maximum. he explains, disillusioned. In this disaster, the doctor specifies, miscarriages and premature births are on a dizzying increase.