Mission To Evacuate Babies From North Gaza Suspended Over Lack Of Security Clearance: UN

Hours after Israel-Hamas deal to end Gaza war, the United Nations children’s charity said that its has suspended the pre-approved mission to transfer two newborn babies from Gaza as they did not get Israeli security clearance.

According to Reuters, the babies are part of a group of 18 newborns in north Gaza hospitals whom UN agencies have been trying to evacuate amid an ongoing Israeli assault on the enclave’s largest urban area.

The newborns, less than a month old, were left behind in incubators at Al Helo Hospital as they could not be transferred along with their parents who fled north Gaza, the UNICEF said.

“We put them in the back of the car and took them to our office and we were waiting for clearance to leave from there. Unfortunately we didn’t

get that clearance,” Reuters quoted Hamish Young, Senior Emergency Coordinator for UNICEF, as saying.

“There are drones and quadcopters still flying around and there’s some heavy machine gun fire. We’re still determined to get these babies back to their parents in the south,” he said.

Meanwhile, CNN quoted UN emergency relief coordinator Tom Fletcher as saying that about 170,000 metric tonnes of food, medicine, and other supplies are ready to be surged into Gaza.

He further said that the UN aims to send hundreds of trucks of supplies everyday to the enclave in the first 60 days of the ceasefire.

The UN plans to scale up its food assistance over the next two months “to reach 2.1 million people who need food aid and around 500,000 people who need nutrition” in Gaza, he added.

The Gaza peace deal aims to end the conflict between Israel and Hamas. It includes the release of 47 hostages held by Hamas in exchange for nearly 2,000 Palestinian prisoners.

The agreement also ensures a daily supply of humanitarian aid to Gaza and the phased return of displaced residents. Israeli troops will gradually withdraw with international guarantees reportedly supported by Trump. The ceasefire is expected to come into effect soon after Israeli cabinet approval.