Premature baby rescued from dead mother’s womb in Gaza dies

In a heartbreaking development, the premature Palestinian baby who had been saved from her mother’s womb shortly after the woman was killed in an Israeli airstrike amid the ongoing war in Gaza, has died, the doctor who was caring for her told Reuters, on Friday (Apr 26).

Baby saved from dead mother’s womb dies

The baby’s mother, Sabreen Al-Sakani had suffered extensive injuries after an Israeli strike hit the family home in southern Gaza’s Rafah.

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At the time, Sabreen, along with her husband and their other daughter – three-year-old Malak – were asleep. The explosion reportedly took place an hour before midnight on April 20.

The baby, who had been named Rouh, meaning soul died on Thursday (Apr 25) reported Reuters citing Doctor Mohammad Salama, head of the emergency neonatal unit at Emirati Hospital, who had been caring for her.

“I and other doctors tried to save her, but she died. For me personally, it was a very difficult and painful day,” he told the news agency by phone.

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The doctor also said that the baby suffered respiratory problems and had a “very weak” immune system “that is what led to her death. She joined her family as a martyr,” Dr Salama said.

About the Israeli airstrike

Sabreen, who had carried her child through seven-and-a-half months of pregnancy, sustained extensive injuries while her husband and Malak were killed in an Israel airstrike. However, the baby was still alive in her mother’s womb when rescue workers reached the site.

Sabreen was rushed to the Emirati hospital in Rafah where she eventually succumbed to her wounds, but amid the chaos, doctors performed an emergency C-section and were able to save the baby.

In response to the airstrike, anIsraeli military spokesperson toldReutersthat different militant targets were hit in Gaza which included military compounds, launch posts and armed people.

Rouh weighed just 1.4 kilogrammes at birth and survived. At the time, the doctor wrote the words “the baby of the martyr Sabreen al-Sakani” on a piece of tape and attached it to the baby’s body before she was placed in an incubator.

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The baby’s uncle Rami al-Sheikh told the Associated Press that she was buried next to her father on Thursday. “My brother’s family is completely wiped out. It’s been deleted from the civil registry. There is no trace of him left behind.”

At least 34,356 people have been killed in Gaza amid the ongoing war between Hamas and Israel, said the health ministry run by the Palestinian militant group in an update on Friday.

The tally includes at least 51 deaths in the past 24 hours, the Hamas-run ministry said in the statement, adding that 77,368 people have been wounded in the Gaza Strip since the war began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7.

(With inputs from agencies)

Disclaimer: WION takes utmost care to accurately and responsibly report ongoing developments on the Israel-Palestine conflict after the Hamas attacks. However, we cannot independently verify the authenticity of all statements, photos and videos.