The lives of 36 babies at Gaza’s Al Shifa Hospital hang in the balance, according to medical staff there who said there was no clear mechanism to move them despite an Israeli effort to supply incubators for an evacuation.

According to Reuters, three of the original 39 premature babies have already died since Gaza’s biggest hospital ran out of fuel.

“Luckily they are still 36, we didn’t lose any of them overnight,” Dr Ahmed El Mokhatallali, a surgeon, told Reuters by telephone from Al Shifa. “But still the risks are really high … We have still the risk of losing them.”

The military also posted a video showing Shani Sasson, a spokesperson from an Israeli Defence Ministry liaison office that deals with Palestinian civilian affairs, standing in front of incubators and saying a formal offer of help had been made.

“Extensive efforts are underway to ensure that these incubators right here behind me can reach the babies in Gaza without delay,” she said in the video.