Amid escalating military operations, 31 premature babies were evacuated from Gaza’s largest hospital, Al-Shifa, labeled a “death zone” by the World Health Organization. Israel reported finding a 55-meter tunnel under the hospital, while tensions continue with Hamas, and Qatar cites “minor” obstacles to a hostage release deal. 

Thirty-one premature babies were evacuated from Gaza’s biggest hospital on Sunday, the World Health Organization said, seeking to get the last patients and staff out of what it has dubbed a “death zone”.

The evacuation came as Israel, which said it was stepping up military operations against Hamas militants, announced it had found a 55-metre tunnel under the Al-Shifa hospital while mediator Qatar said “minor” obstacles remained for a deal on the release of hostages.

Sirens blared across Jerusalem to warn of rocket fire from Gaza, sending civilians scurrying for cover as loud blasts from intercepted missiles pierced the air.

In Gaza, a lack of fuel to power incubators has previously led to the deaths of other newborns at Al-Shifa hospital, according to the Hamas-run health ministry.

Al-Shifa has become the focus of the six-week-old war that began October 7 when Gaza-based Hamas militants stormed across the militarised border to kill, according to Israeli officials, around 1,200 people and take roughly 240 hostages.

In Gaza, the Hamas government says the death toll from Israel’s relentless aerial bombardment and ground operations, in retaliation for the worst-ever attack against the country, has reached 13,000.

Most of the casualties on both sides are civilians, and include, according to Hamas officials, 5,500 children.

On Saturday, hundreds fled Al-Shifa Hospital on foot as loud explosions were heard around the complex. Columns of sick and injured were seen leaving with displaced people, doctors and nurses.

At least 15 bodies, some in advanced stages of decomposition, were strewn along the route, an AFP journalist said.

The WHO said 29 patients at the hospital with serious spinal injuries cannot move without medical assistance.

Israel has told Palestinians to move south for their safety, but deadly strikes continued there too.

On Sunday the army said “troops exposed a 55-meter-long terror tunnel 10 meters deep underneath the Shifa hospital complex,” which ran under the hospital and ended at a blast door.

Israel has been under pressure to prove its allegations that a Hamas command center is concealed beneath the hospital, a charge the militants and medical staff have denied.

A Hamas health official said more than 80 people were killed on Saturday in twin strikes on Jabalia refugee camp, the territory’s largest, including on a UN school sheltering displaced people.

The Israeli army said only that “an incident in the Jabalia region” was under review without elaborating.

“The horrendous events of the past 48 hours in Gaza beggar belief,” United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said in a statement.

Qatar’s Prime Minister Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani said on Sunday a deal to free hostages hinges on “very minor” practical issues, without elaborating.

US deputy national security adviser Jon Finer told NBC they were “closer than we have been in quite some time” to securing a deal. But he added on CBS: “The mantra that nothing is agreed until everything is agreed really does apply.”

Relatives of some of the hostages on Saturday marched to Netanyahu’s Jerusalem office, demanding action to free them.

Also Sunday, the Iran-backed Huthi rebels claimed they had seized an Israeli ship in the vital waters of the Red Sea, but Israel denied the allegation.

AFP