Five Babies In The Gaza Strip Died Of Coolness In Less Than A Week

Illustration of babies in Gaza. (Source: WAFA)

JAKARTA - The number of infants who died from the cold in the Gaza Strip, Palestine continues to grow, after the United Nations (UN) agency last week warned this when Israel's authorization of winter aid hampered distribution to people in need.

A baby died of extreme cold temperatures in Gaza on Sunday morning, the death of the fifth baby in less than a week, with thousands of families forced to stay in emergency tents amid Israel's ongoing genocide.

The baby, identified as Jumaa Al-Batran, is only one month old, as quoted from WAFA December 30.

Apart from Jumaa Al-Batran, her twin brother Ali's condition worsened due to the cold when they lived in a tent in Deir al-Balah in central Gaza.

According to medical sources, freezing temperatures have caused the deaths of four other newborns in recent days, aged between 4 and 21 days. These babies died of extreme cold weather, exacerbated by the lack of resources in the trapped region.

In addition to the tragic loss of life, medical sources reported an increase in disease among children, which was exacerbated by food insecurity among mothers.

This causes more severe health conditions in health care environments that are already limited, as Gaza's population continues to experience the most difficult conditions.

Earlier, the UN Agency's Commissioner-General for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA) warned that children in Gaza face the risk of death from cold weather due to the absence of adequate housing.

"Gaza babies can die of cold weather and lack of shelter," Philippe Lazzarini said on platform X on Friday night.

Lazzarini wrote that winter supplies such as blankets and mattresses have been stuck for months, awaiting Israeli approval to enter Gaza. The Palestinian enclave was inhumanely blockaded by Israel, which has waged a genocide war since the first week of October 2023.

Separately, Gaza's health authorities confirmed on Sunday that the death toll from Palestine since the latest conflict broke out on October 7, 2023, had reached 45,514, while injuries reached 108,189, the majority being women and children.