Gaza: Pregnant woman gives birth after being injured by Israeli strike | World News

A baby was miraculously delivered by emergency caesarian not far from the ruins of her home in the Gaza Strip.

Navine Abu Owdah, 30, was rescued from under the rubble of what was once her apartment earlier this week.

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The pregnant woman sustained multiple fractures and was bleeding abdominally after Israel bombed her home in the tiny enclave, now on its 19th day of siege.

She was rushed to a hospital in Khan Younis, southern Gaza, where thousands of Palestinians have been fleeing to after orders from Israeli forces to evacuate from the north.

Doctors quickly performed a C-section and managed to deliver a ‘healthy’ baby girl.

‘A cesarean section was performed in the emergency department, and her baby girl, who is in good condition, was delivered,’ Dr Salim Saqer, the head of surgery at Nasser hospital, said.

Ms Owdah currently remains under observation and is receiving treatment for her injuries.

Like her, many pregnant women are faced with impossible decisions every day in Gaza – whether to flee their homes, how to protect themselves and their children and where to give birth as the healthcare system collapses.

Somaya, a pregnant mum who has been displaced twice with her family since all the bombardment on Gaza started, is now sheltering in a school near to the city of Deir al Balah.

She is due to give birth in just a few days days, while Israeli missiles have turned her home into nothing more but dust.

‘My children are screaming all night, while there is bombing on us. I am pregnant,’ she told ActionAid.

‘On October 28, I am supposed to give birth, I will have a cesarean section. Where should I go? Where will it be born?

‘When the baby comes, it must be born in a clean place. Where is the cleanliness? What can we do?’

Somaya is also diabetic, and her treatment has run out, putting her own life in danger. 

She added: ‘Whenever I take a dose of insulin, with this heat, it spoils. Every time I take a dose, I get dizzier. I must monitor my blood pressure and blood sugar. 

‘We are sheltering in a school now, where should I go to monitor it? This water is salty sea water; we have to drink it because we can’t find clean water. 

‘And, these little children, we cannot clean them or bathe them because we are afraid that they will get sick. We don’t know what to do, God is standing with us only.’

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