A mother gives birth in Gaza

A baby is born in Gaza amid abysmal and fast deteriorating hospital conditions

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

Now the story of one woman and one baby in the Gaza Strip under Israeli airstrikes, which started three weeks ago after the Hamas attack on southern Israel. Hospitals are barely running, and they’re inundated with thousands of wounded and frightened people. Meanwhile, every day, women are still giving birth. NPR’s Elissa Nadworny has the story of one of these births, a baby girl named Mariam. And a warning to listeners – this story has graphic content.

ELISSA NADWORNY, BYLINE: Raneem Hejazi was eight months pregnant when she and her extended family, including her 1-year-old son, fled their home in north Gaza and headed south. They were staying at an aunt’s apartment on the fourth floor this week when, at 3 a.m., there was an Israeli airstrike, the entire family buried in the rubble. Hejazi’s mother-in-law, Suha, saw her, her arms and legs trapped and mangled.

SUHA: (Through interpreter) Her leg – I could see the bones, the flesh. It was dark. I didn’t know what to do.

NADWORNY: Nearby, she saw a gruesome scene. Hejazi’s 1-year-old, Suha’s grandson, wasn’t moving.

SUHA: (Through interpreter, crying) I was saying, Azuz, Azuz – his name. I held him, and I saw that his head was gone.

NADWORNY: The young boy’s father, Asad, survived the attack. He escaped mostly unharmed but remembers looking over at his pregnant wife in that moment.

ASAD: (Through interpreter) She said, leave me. I’ve lost my arms. Leave me to die. My son is dead.

NADWORNY: But they didn’t leave her. Somehow, they pulled her out. An ambulance brought her to the Nasser Hospital in Khan Yunis…

(SOUNDBITE OF MONITOR BEEPING)

NADWORNY: …Where thousands of people lined the corridors, seeking safety from the ongoing airstrikes. That’s where our producer in Gaza, Anas Baba, met the family and medical staff.

MOHAMMAD QANDEEL: It’s, like, unbelievable. You cannot…