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The Gazan health ministry says at least five babies have died from the cold in the last week. Displaced families have little more than tents and tarps to protect them from the weather.
Dec. 30, 2024Updated 7:14 a.m. ET
At least five babies have died from the cold in Gaza in the past week, health authorities there say, as winter worsens the toll on a population traumatized by 15 months of conflict.
Jumaa al-Batran, less than three weeks old, died in intensive care on Sunday after he and his twin brother, Ali, were rushed to Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza, the territory’s health ministry said. On Monday, Ali died, according to Wafa, the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency.
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Humanitarian conditions have deteriorated in Gaza, where the Israeli military’s bombardment and attacks have displaced 90 percent of the population at least once, according to United Nations agencies. Since the war started on Oct. 7, 2023, with a raid on Israel by the Gaza-based militant group Hamas that killed 1,200 Israelis, more than 45,300 Palestinians have been killed, according to the health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its statistics. At least 17,492 of those killed were children, the ministry says.
Born into war, Gaza’s youngest are now struggling with the cold.
Tens of thousands of displaced Gazans are living in ramshackle encampments along the coast, with little more than tents and tarps to protect them from the cold and rain. The tents, once so difficult to obtain they were considered a luxury, have largely disintegrated after a year of exposure to the elements, leaking and providing little protection from the biting wind, humanitarian organizations say.
There is almost no electricity in the enclave, and not enough fuel to keep generators going. There is a shortage of blankets and warm clothing, and little wood for fires.
“Children in Gaza are cold, sick and traumatized,” said Rosalia Bollen, a UNICEF spokesperson who recently visited Gaza’s camps for the displaced. “Many still wear summer clothes. With cooking gas gone, many are searching through rubble for scraps of plastic to burn.”
On Friday, with weather forecasts warning of falling temperatures, the Palestinian Civil Defense emergency service urged Gazans, especially those in tent encampments, to take extra precautions. It recommended drinking warm fluids, wearing layers and exercising to generate body heat. Parents were encouraged to closely monitor their children’s body temperatures. The service also suggested insulating tents and shelters with cardboard under bedding and along walls to reduce heat loss.
But with more heavy rain expected in the coming days, and lows in the mid-40s Fahrenheit, those measures may not be enough to ward off more suffering from the cold.
Abu Bakr Bashir contributed reporting.
