Conjoined twins born in Gaza ‘in danger,’ doctor says

The lives of a rare pair of conjoined twins born in a Gaza hospital are in danger if they are not given treatment outside of the Strip, a hospital official said on Sunday.

Shifa Hospital Neo-natal Care Director Alam Abu Hamda told The Times of Israel in a phone call that the two baby girls, who are conjoined at the abdomen and lower-body, were born on Saturday.

“Their lives are in danger. It’s a complicated case,” he said, adding that doctors are continuing to study their situation.

He said that one of the babies looks “okay,” but the other is “suffering” and had to be placed in chemical ventilation.

“The quicker they are transferred abroad, the better their chances are to be saved,” he said.

An image of the two babies was shared on Palestinian social media.

ولادة توأم سيامي في مستشفى الشفاء بمدينة غزة، اليوم.
تصوير: محمد أسد pic.twitter.com/foy6R3J1A2

— شبكة قدس الإخبارية (@qudsn) October 22, 2017

The doctor said a request to be treated abroad was given to the Palestinian Health Ministry on Sunday morning and they are now waiting for a response.

“We don’t know which center can deal with this,” he said, noting maybe the United States or Saudi Arabia could help the complicated medical issue.

But he also said he would be glad if Israel would be willing to treat the twins.

“If Israel will accept, no problem for us. We need anyone to accept them as soon as possible. We are looking to help these twins,” he said.

In order for the newborns to leave the Gaza Strip, they would require approval from the Defense Ministry’s Coordinator of the Government’s Activities in the Territories (COGAT).

However, the Defense Ministry unit said on Thursday evening that it had yet to receive a request.

A number of infants in Gaza have died in recent months, according to officials in Gaza, after requests for medical referrals were denied.

International medical rights groups in Gaza said in June that the PA has significantly decreased aid sent to the Strip as well as medical referrals, as part of measures by Ramallah to force the Hamas terror group to give up power in the Strip.

Earlier in October, Hamas invited the PA to retake governing control of the Strip, but the measures have yet to be lifted.

This is the third case of Siamese twins being born in Gaza in recent years, the official Palestinian Authority news site Wafa reported.

Six years ago, two twins were born conjoined at the abdomen and the chest. Last year, twins were born sharing their entire bodies and organs, except the head, heart and lungs.

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include a response from COGAT.

Judah Ari Gross contributed to this report.