Israeli Airstrike Kills Rafah Father And Sister, Doctors Perform Cesarean For Sabreen Al-Sakani

In eastern Rafah, an Israeli airstrike hit a family home and killed the baby’s father and sister, while Palestinian doctors performed a cesarean for the newborn’s mother, Sabreen al-Sakani, who arrived dying in an emergency department severely injured in the head and abdomen.

“One of the most painful human stories, a Gaza mother recounts the heavy suffering that began at the moment of an Israeli bombardment, ending with injuries so severe that they completely changed the contours of her face and plunged her into a whirlpool of physical and psychological pain, with effects reflected in her daily life and her relationship with her children”

Al-Jazeera Net

AFP reported that Sahib al-Hams, a surgeon and director of the Kuwait Specialized Hospital in Rafah (south), said, "The mother died ten minutes later," after the cesarean was carried out without waiting despite the impossibility of administering anesthesia.

Al-Jazeera Net

The Gaza Ministry of Health said at least 19 people were killed in the strike that hit the house, and the newborn was transferred to the pediatric unit of the Emirati field hospital where Haidar Abu Snimeh said, "We quickly placed him in an incubator, gave him oxygen, and treated him with antibiotics."

The hospital said the baby’s condition was stable on Tuesday morning, and AFP said the footage of the birth was widely broadcast Monday after Palestinian journalists filmed it because Israeli authorities do not permit the international press to enter the Gaza Strip at the start of its massive military offensive more than six months ago.

In Gaza, the Israeli occupation army continued to breach the ceasefire through air and artillery strikes against areas housing the displaced, and the same source said it also continued breaches through demolition operations and gunfire in scattered areas.

The report said that three Palestinians were martyred on Wednesday, including Mohammed Al-Attar after being wounded by Israeli shelling near the intersection of Al-Jalaa and Al-Ayun streets in Gaza City two days earlier, and it also said Khaled Muhammad Salem Jouda was martyred after succumbing to injuries from earlier Israeli shelling in northern Gaza.

Tribune de Genève

It further stated that police officer Mohammed Al-Khatib died today of his injuries after a drone attack by an Israeli aircraft targeted a police unit in the Al-Nasr neighborhood of Gaza City a few days ago, while two civilians were wounded by Israeli fire in central Khan Yunis.

The same source reported that medical sources in the Gaza Strip said the death toll from the Israeli aggression on the Strip had risen to 72,619 dead and 172,484 injured since the start of the aggression on October 7, 2023, and that hospitals received in the last 24 hours four martyrs, including three new ones, a martyr recovered from the rubble, and 16 injuries.

In Nasser Medical Complex, Bara Abu Zaid lies in a ward after a tent housing her family during the Israeli war on Gaza was targeted, leaving her with life-threatening injuries that put her at risk of losing one of her hands and one of her feet.

“On Monday, the Israeli occupation army continued to breach the ceasefire in the Gaza Strip through air and artillery strikes against areas housing the displaced, in addition to other breaches”

Idha'ah Hasni

The report said her body is heavy with shrapnel and fractures and that infections worsen day by day, while it also quoted her brother in statements to Al-Youm Al-Sabea saying, "there is no adequate treatment, the condition is continually worsening, and my sister’s hands and feet are at risk of amputation at any moment".

It added that Bara had received months ago a medical referral for treatment outside Gaza due to the seriousness of her condition, but she has not yet been able to leave the enclave amid travel complications and Israeli obstruction, and it described her urgent need for treatment abroad to save what can be saved of her limbs and life.

Separately, Al-Jazeera Net said stringent restrictions hinder travel for Gaza patients, reporting that on June 9 the health ministry said Israel had allowed only 1,204 patients to depart out of 17,757 who had medical referrals for treatment abroad, and it quoted the ministry urging international and human rights institutions to pressure Israel to open the crossings.