A baby evacuated from Al-Shifa Hospital reunites with parents — but in Rafah, they face fresh peril

Five-month-old Anas Stateh was one of 31 babies evacuated from Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza in November. Now, he and his family are struggling to survive in Rafah.

CAIRO, Egypt — Bundled up in layers of blankets at a tent encampment in Gaza’s southern city of Rafah, baby Anas Stateh cries out in pain. For weeks, the five-month-old has suffered from a hernia that requires urgent surgery, but the war has made it impossible for his parents to get him the help he needs. 

“The boy is weak,” his father, Jalal Stateh, told NBC News’ crew in Rafah, where more than 1 million people have taken refuge last week amid Israel’s offensive in the enclave. Baby Anas, he said, gets “no sleep, day or night.”

“I am watching him … losing him,” Jalal Stateh added.

Anas has already survived plenty. In November, he was one of 31 babies evacuated from Al-Shifa Hospital in northern Gaza as part of a high-stakes mission led by the World Health Organization.

Baby Anas Stateh with his mother Wardeh and father Jalal in Rafah, southern Gaza.NBC NewsOnce considered the backbone of Gaza’s health care system, the complex was raided by the Israel Defense Forces, with the IDF alleging the hospital was being used as a command center for Hamas — an allegation supported by U.S. intelligence, according to a U.S. official. In November, Israel released footage it said showed hostages being forced onto the premises of Al-Shifa Hospital, as well as video purported to show a tunnel under the facility. 

https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/gaza-hospital-babies-al-shifa-israel-war-hamas-egypt-rcna139830

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