An official announced Thursday that the World Health Organization (WHO) is collaborating with Egyptian authorities to coordinate the evacuation of 36 premature babies from Al-Shifa Hospital in Gaza, currently impacted by an Israeli military operation.
Richard Brennan, the U.N. health agency's regional emergency director for the Eastern Mediterranean Region, told ABC News that the evacuation is made difficult by a lack of fuel and the security situation.
The WHO has not been able to communicate with hospitals in northern Gaza for days, he added. "It's a completely desperate situation."
Some 600 patients, including 36 newborns and 27 intensive care patients, 280 staff and 2,500 displaced people, remain at the hospital, according to the WHO.
Alongside Egyptian officials, the organization is negotiating with Israel through the U.N. to ensure that there are "security guarantees and safe passage" for evacuations, he added.
Israel's bombardment of the Gaza Strip since the Oct. 7 Hamas attack, accompanied by a ground operation, has killed over 11,400 Palestinians, more than half of them women and children.
Thousands of buildings, including hospitals, mosques and churches, have also either been damaged or fully destroyed.
The official Israeli death toll, meanwhile, stands at 1,200.
The enclave is again under a communications blackout due to a lack of fuel for generators, according to Paltel, the company that provides telecommunications services in the Gaza Strip.
