RIYADH - Palestinian conjoined twins born in the blockaded Gaza Strip and transported to Saudi Arabia for separation are in critical condition, a Saudi hospital said Wednesday. Rital and Ritag Abu Assi, less than two weeks old, crossed Rafah land crossing on Tuesday into Egypt where they took a flight to Saudi Arabia for a separation surgery to be paid for by King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz. The two babies are joined at the abdomen, and ill-equipped hospitals in Gaza could not conduct such complicated operation. "Preliminary examinations (on the twins) showed that their situation is very critical and their health situation is unstable, " said a press release by the King Abdulaziz National Guard Medical City, the hospital where the twins are supposed to undergo the separation process. The twins "share a conjoined heart and suffer congenital malformations that might threaten their lives," the statement added. They are now under intensive care and will undergo further tests when their conditions are stabilized, the release concluded. The hospital, successfully separating 25 conjoined twins, received the twins on Tuesday after they arrived from el-Arish airport, Egypt, aboard a plane chartered by the Saudi king.