Ashour: Israeli war created unprecedented birth deformities

Director of Al-Shifa hospital Dr. Hussein Ashour said Saturday that the Israeli war on the Gaza Strip created birth defects in newborns never seen before.

Ashour added that the rate of congenital malformations in July, August and September rose to more than 80 percent compared to the same period last year.

He noted that a field medical team recorded observations indicating that the incidence of congenital defects of infants born from mothers who were near to locations exposed to direct bombardment during the war is higher than those born in the less vulnerable areas.

“There are several indicators linking the high rate of deformities and the Zionist occupation forces’ use of white phosphorus, which directly affects pregnant mothers and babies,” the doctor underscored.

In another context, MP Jamal Al-Khudari, the head of the popular committee against the siege, stated Saturday that Israel imposes tight sea blockade on Gaza as it does by land and air and it daily targets fishermen’s boats despite the fact that they work within the specified fishing area after Israel reduced it to only three miles.

Khudari pointed out that Israel deceives the world when it talks about the opening of Gaza crossings, while they are opened partially for some basic needs.

He affirmed that Israel imposes its siege on all aspects of life in Gaza, noting that the citizens still suffer from the lack of vital needs especially medical supplies and construction materials.

For his part, spokesman for the campaign of miles of smiles for Gaza children Zaher Berawi stated that the Islamic assembly in Germany, the largest assembly of Muslim Turks in Europe, provided the campaign with nine buses dedicated to students and the disabled children in the besieged Gaza.

Miles of smiles campaign consists of 110 buses and vans carrying hundreds of electric wheelchairs and a number of medical equipment in addition to computers provided by different European charitable institutions.