Video emerges from inside al-Shifa hospital where newborn babies have had their incubators switched off

An aid worker in Gaza has shared footage from inside the neonatal unit of the al-Shifa hospital before it was stormed by Israeli troops.

In the minute-long clip, shared with Yahoo UK News, the volunteer - who works for UK-based ActionAid charity - can be seen panning around the inside of the al-Shifa hospital showing incubators with days’ old babies inside them.

The video was taken on 31 October, two weeks before last night’s Israeli raid in north Gaza, and gives an insight into the significant challenges facing health workers in the hospital. According to ActionAid, at least three newborn babies have died in al-Shifa hospital since Saturday.

“These newborn babies could simply [die],” says Bisan, 24, a humanitarian youth volunteer for Action Aid.

The video was shared with Yahoo News before Israel Defense Forces entered al-Shifa - Gaza’s largest hospital - on Wednesday, citing a "precise and targeted operation against Hamas in a specified area" within the medical complex.

The IDF has steadily exerted greater control over Gaza City amid claims Hamas is using Palestinians as human shields by situating a substantial compound inside and underneath the hospital building. Hamas denies these accusations.

"There is no fuel entering the Gaza strip or going to the hospitals, so more than 45 incubators just in Shifa hospital could just stop and these newborn babies/children could simply be killed," Bisan says in the video,

Babies just 40 to 45 days old are “threatening now to be killed,” she added.

"So the incubators department in Shifa Hospital as with all the departments in Shifa Hospital and other hospitals aswell are threatening to stop working because there is no fuel in Gaza." said Bisan.

"These babies need special care," she said.

Al-Shifa hospital

The fate of al-Shifa has become a focus of international alarm in recent days because of worsening conditions in the facility amid global calls for a humanitarian ceasefire.

Thousands of patients, medical staff and displaced people have been trapped during the Israeli assault on Gaza in the past five weeks. Israel says it has urged civilians to surrender, saying they are being used by Hamas as human shields.

On Saturday, ActionAid warned that 21 out of the 35 hospitals in Gaza are now out of action, either due to being struck by bombs or having run out of fuel.

Hiba Tibi, CARE West Bank and Gaza Country director told Yahoo News that, as of Tuesday, just one hospital was left operating in the north of Gaza.

'Hospitals are not battlegrounds' say UN relief chief

Israel's military has said it was prepared to assist in evacuating infants from Al Shifa hospital at the request of staff.

But UN relief chief Martin Griffiths wrote on social platform X (formerly known as Twitter): "Hospitals are not battlegrounds.”

Adding, “the protection of newborns, patients, medical staff and all civilians must override all other concerns”.

He also stressed that “Hamas must not use a place like a hospital as a shield for their presence” and that “the hospital should not become a war zone of danger”.

The danger to civilians was further underlined by UNICEF’s Catherine Russell. She said during a visit to Gaza on Wednesday: '“Inside the Strip, there is nowhere safe for Gaza’s one million children to turn.”

She added that more than 4,600 children have reportedly been killed and nearly 9,000 injured.

Last weekend, the al-Shifa hospital itself faced a power outage for three days due to intensified military operations, causing severe damage to critical infrastructure. Water tanks, oxygen stations, the cardiovascular facility, and the maternity ward suffered significant harm.

On Monday, ActionAid said that three newborn babies at Al-Shifa had died since Saturday after their incubators had to be turned off and that staff were desperately trying to keep 36 remaining newborns alive.

At least 32 of the hospital’s patients have died over the last few days.

“For Al-Shifa hospital, that moment of pure catastrophe has now arrived. This sanctuary for the ill and displaced is being shaken by bombing as the bodies of the dead pile up,” said Riham Jafari, advocacy and communications coordinator at ActionAid Palestine. “Hospitals must be safe havens and we demand their protection and reiterate our calls for an immediate ceasefire to end the suffering of the people of Gaza.”

A doctor at Al-Shifa hospital told the Reuters news agency on Wednesday that gunfire forced staff to stay away from windows for their safety as Israeli forces began raiding the complex.

"Bombardment. Shooting around the hospital and within the hospital. It's really horrible - you can feel that it's very near to the hospital. And then we realised that the tanks are moving around the hospital," Dr Ahmed El Mokhallalati told Reuters.

Watch: Al Shifa doctor hiding from gunfire in Israeli raid