Newborn babies die amid Gaza cold snap, civil defence agency says

According to Gaza's Civil Defense, recent severe cold weather has led to the deaths of six newborns. Over the past two weeks, nighttime temperatures in Gaza have plummeted to below 9 degrees Celsius, while hundreds of thousands of residents have been displaced due to the Israeli attacks that have lasted for over a year, living in tents under harsh conditions. The lack of adequate shelter and resources has exacerbated the vulnerability of these infants.

Civil Defense spokesperson Mahmoud Bassal told Agence France-Presse, "We have recorded the deaths of six newborns due to the severe cold wave and lack of heating equipment." Dr. Samer Lubbad, a pediatrician at the Palestine Friends of Patient Society Hospital (PFBSH) in Gaza, told Al Jazeera that the cold directly affected the babies, leading to "frostbite" or hypothermia-related deaths. He pointed out that this situation is caused by the cold weather and the lack of safe housing, further emphasizing the dire conditions faced by displaced families.

Dr. Saeed Salih, a health official at PFBSH, stated that eight newborns were admitted to the hospital in the past two weeks due to severe cold-related injuries, six of whom subsequently died. Last month, a ceasefire agreement between Hamas and Israel came into effect, allowing aid to reach the displaced. However, the first phase of the ceasefire is set to end on Saturday, and the future situation remains uncertain, leaving the fate of vulnerable populations hanging in the balance.

Hamas has accused Israel's "criminal policies" of causing the infant deaths and blamed Israel for obstructing the delivery of humanitarian aid to the 2.4 million people in Gaza. In a statement, Hamas said, "We call on the mediators to take immediate action to stop the occupation's violation of the truce agreement and facilitate the entry of necessities, including shelter, heating equipment, and emergency medical supplies, into Gaza." The statement emphasized that "this is crucial to protecting the children of Gaza," highlighting the urgency of the situation.

Data from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) shows that fighting between Israel and Hamas has damaged or destroyed more than 80% of medical facilities in the Gaza Strip in the past 15 months. Under the current ceasefire agreement, Israel has agreed to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza, including 60,000 mobile homes and 200,000 tents. This follows an attack on southern Israel by Palestinian armed groups on October 7, 2023, which resulted in approximately 1,200 deaths, followed by retaliatory attacks by Israel on Gaza, which, according to Palestinian health officials, have resulted in more than 48,000 Palestinian deaths and the destruction of large areas of the Gaza Strip, displacing hundreds of thousands of people.