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‘Missiles start falling': Miracle Israeli baby born in built-in bomb shelter at hospital

‘Missiles start falling': Miracle Israeli baby born in built-in bomb shelter at hospital

Sky News AU4 days ago

Israeli resident David Erlich shares the incredible story of how his 28th grandchild was born in a bomb shelter in Israel.
'The hospital had set up an entire underground basement bomb shelter facility that could not be damaged by bombs,' Mr Erlich told Sky News host Peta Credlin.
'All of a sudden, the sirens go on the telephones and everything.'
'The missiles start falling, and here she is in labour.'

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‘We've seen hospitals being bombed. We've seen schools being bombed': The harrowing reality of life in Gaza
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‘We've seen hospitals being bombed. We've seen schools being bombed': The harrowing reality of life in Gaza

WARNING: Distressing images Tents pitched on the rubble of their homes and fires started using the burnt clothes off their backs — this is the reality of life in Gaza. Ghada Alhaddad grew up in Gaza, after her grandparents were displaced from parts of Palestine now called Israel. Since October 2023, she and her family have been displaced within Gaza at least five times. She believes this is below the average number of times families in the strip would have moved. The latest eruption of war in Gaza was sparked on October 7, 2023, when Hamas militants killed 1200 people in Israel and took some 250 hostages back to the enclave, according to Israeli tallies. Many of those killed or captured were civilians. More than 54,000 Palestinians have since been killed by Israel's retaliatory military campaign, according to Gaza health authorities. It has extended to other parts of the Middle East, namely Lebanon and Iran. A ceasefire between Hamas and Israel is currently being negotiated, but one previously agreed to on March 14 was soon broken by Israel on March 18. Since breaking the ceasefire, Israel has issued almost one displacement order every two days, international aid organisations say. Approximately 665,000 people have been forcibly displaced since March 18, according to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA). International organisations say this is forcing people into isolated areas, with the available so-called safe zones covering less than 20 per cent of the Gaza Strip. 'All of a sudden you have to go,' Alhaddad told 'Whatever you see, you pick it up and take it.' Once an order is made, you are forced to move quickly, Alhaddad said. 'You only have a couple of hours, you evacuate as quickly as possible,' she said. 'You take whatever you've got and that's it. You take as light as possible.' This far into the war, many people are dealing with significant injuries that affect their ability to move as well, Alhaddad said. Alongside the injured are 'elderly people, people with ... amputations', she said. 'Children and pregnant women.' Evacuations happen 'sometimes in the middle of the night, with no light', she said. 'They just walk and walk, to no clear destination.' Alongside the physical pain of travelling to a new place, there is an emotional pain that comes with leaving, Alhaddad said. You wonder what would happen if you returned, she said. Gazans know that if they remain where they are, they will not be safe. But there are consequences that come with leaving, too. 'I'm not going to see my home again,' Alhaddad said. While areas are designated as safe when Israel makes a displacement order, Palestinians do not believe they are really safe. 'There is no safe place,' Alhaddad said. 'People used to take shelter in schools, then hospitals. But they're not safe.' "We've seen hospitals being bombed. We've seen schools being bombed." At least 767 people have been killed, and at least 2419 people have been injured, while sheltering in UNRWA premises since October 7, 2023. The areas Palestinians are now forced to shelter in are also not fit for purpose, Alhaddad said. 'Honestly, we don't have shelters,' she said. 'There's no water, no sanitation, no shelter. 'People build tents from piles of nylon sheets, empty flour sacks.' The displacement orders have 'pushed people down' to occupy less than 20 per cent of Gaza, Alhaddad said. The Gaza Strip is roughly half the size of Canberra, and prior to October 2023 already had more than two million people living in close quarters. 'When you walk on the street, you see people everywhere,' Alhaddad said. 'You can imagine how chaotic. There's no space. 'People build their tents on the rubble of their homes. 'People build their tents on the beach. On the pavement, on the graveyards or cemeteries. 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You can't travel to Jerusalem.' There is no way of leaving through the border with Egypt either, Alhaddad said. A United Nations conference on a two-state solution was scheduled to begin in New York on June 17 and run to June 20, co-chaired by Saudi Arabia and France. However, following the launching of a massive attack on Iran by Israeli forces on June 13, the conference has been postponed. The bombardment has continued between the two nations since — with Iranian officials reporting over 220 deaths, mostly civilians, while Israel said 24 civilians were killed. Alhaddad hopes foreign governments will push for a permanent ceasefire, when it does go ahead. 'The most important thing right now is a ceasefire,' she said. Alhaddad's neighbour was killed a few weeks ago in an Israeli strike which also claimed 12 other lives. 'One of my classmates was killed along with her three children,' she said. Alhaddad grew up with them, went to school with them, celebrated milestones with them and then one day they were dead, she said. "We need this bloodbath to stop. We need this bloodshed to stop." 'Entire families have been wiped out,' she said. 'We are exhausted. Wars have shaped our youth, our childhood. I just want a future with no war. 'It's my dream. I don't have any other dreams right now. 'I just want a ceasefire.' Last week, Australia was one of 149 countries to vote in favour of an immediate, unconditional and permanent ceasefire in the war in Gaza and to allow aid access, after the United States vetoed a similar effort in the Security Council the week before. The US, Israel and 10 others voted against the resolution, while 19 countries abstained from voting. Australia also last week sanctioned Israel's National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir and Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich in a co-ordinated move with Canada, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom. The sanctions were applied for 'extremist violence and serious abuses of Palestinian human rights' in the West Bank, with the pair barred from travelling to Australia and any assets in the country being frozen. 'We are steadfastly committed to the two-state solution which is the only way to guarantee security and dignity for Israelis and Palestinians and ensure long term stability in the region, but it is imperilled by extremist settler violence and settlement expansion,' the government said in its announcement of the sanctions. Australia in July also sanctioned Israelis involved in attacking and killing Palestinians in the West Bank. Australia has listed Hamas as a terrorist entity since 2001, according to the federal government's national security website. The new measures prompted condemnation from the US, with Secretary of State Marco Rubio saying it would do little to achieve a ceasefire in the conflict.

‘Missiles start falling': Miracle Israeli baby born in built-in bomb shelter at hospital
‘Missiles start falling': Miracle Israeli baby born in built-in bomb shelter at hospital

Sky News AU

time4 days ago

  • Sky News AU

‘Missiles start falling': Miracle Israeli baby born in built-in bomb shelter at hospital

Israeli resident David Erlich shares the incredible story of how his 28th grandchild was born in a bomb shelter in Israel. 'The hospital had set up an entire underground basement bomb shelter facility that could not be damaged by bombs,' Mr Erlich told Sky News host Peta Credlin. 'All of a sudden, the sirens go on the telephones and everything.' 'The missiles start falling, and here she is in labour.'

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