An Israeli soldier helps to provide incubators to Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza. Photo: Screenshot

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) has strongly denied reports that it was responsible for five premature Palestinian babies being left to die at a hospital in Gaza, lambasting the accusation as “dangerous misinformation” and a “perverse exploitation” of innocent lives.

Earlier this week, the Arabic-language news channel Al Mashhad shared footage of five beds filled with what were allegedly the bodies of dead infants in Al-Nasr Hospital. The hospital room appeared to be abandoned, with equipment out of service. The Emirati TV channel accused the Israeli army of forcibly evacuating the hospital and not letting anyone take the babies, leaving them to die.

The Switzerland-based Euro-Mediterranean Human Rights Monitor said it was able to “confirm that it documented the discovery of five infants dead and in a state of decomposition.” The organization — headed by Richard Falk, the former UN special rapporteur with a long record of anti-Israel statements — said the babies were left to die three weeks ago and called for an investigation into what happened.

News of the alleged discovered quickly gained traction and was reported by Al Jazeera and several English-language outlets known to produce anti-Israel content. The story also spread on social media, with anti-Israel voices decrying the Jewish state as responsible for the deaths of the infants.

However, Israel never operated inside Al-Nasr hospital, according to the IDF, which called the reports false and misleading.

“Given that the IDF did not operate inside the Al-Nasr hospital, these allegations are not only false but also a perverse exploitation of innocent lives, used as tools to spread dangerous misinformation,” an IDF spokesperson told The Algemeiner. “This is more evident when taking into account that the IDF assisted in moving newborns from the pediatric ward of the Shifa hospital to safety, as well as provide Israeli incubators in the process.”

The IDF helped facilitate the safe evacuation of babies from Al Shifa Hospital in Gaza and also offered incubators, other medical supplies, and baby food.

Israel has not been the only one accused of being responsible for the deaths of premature babies at Al-Nasr hospital. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which has been involved in providing humanitarian assistance during the Israel-Hamas war, released a statement on Thursday saying it was not involved in the evacuation of the hospital and that suggestions it left or abandoned the babies are false.

We have seen the footage circulating of deceased newborn babies and claims suggesting that ICRC left or abandoned these babies at the Al Nasr Hospital in northern Gaza.

This is false.
👇 pic.twitter.com/1T4XBTg50q

— ICRC (@ICRC) November 30, 2023

Reports of the dead babies emerged during a temporary ceasefire and hostage-prisoner swap deal between Israel and Hamas, the Palestinian terror group that rules Gaza.

During Hamas’ Oct. 7 onslaught across southern Israel — the massacre that launched the current conflict in Gaza — Palestinian terrorists murdered babies and other young children, according to copious documentation including videos, eyewitness accounts, press reports, and investigations by Israeli authorities.