Heavy winter rains and strong winds have brought new challenges to displaced Palestinians in the war-torn Gaza Strip.
GAZA — A 12-day-old Palestinian baby died in Gaza on Tuesday from severe cold, bringing the number of children in the war-torn enclave who have died of hypothermia since the start of the current winter season to 11, as Israel continues to block much-needed aid, including shelters, from entering the enclave despite the ceasefire.
According to the Palestinian Health Ministry on Tuesday, 12-year-old Haitham Abu Kas died from a severe cold in the Ranitisi Hospital in Gaza City.
The death of the newborn baby has raised the number of deaths among children from severe cold to 11, the Ministry confirmed.
Heavy winter rains and strong winds have brought new challenges to displaced Palestinians in the war-torn Gaza Strip.
Since November, videos circulating on social media have shown tents being blown away, strong winds scattering belongings, displaced people pleading for help, and children shivering from the cold after polar low-pressure systems and storms accompanied by heavy rain and strong winds battered the Strip.
Gaza’s Civil Defense said that “every low-pressure system turns into a humanitarian disaster in light of the prevention of the entry of building materials and the disruption of reconstruction”.
The organization warned of a “catastrophe” due to the “low-pressure system that caused serious damage to temporary shelters, and thousands of tents were completely damaged”.
“What is happening is not a weather crisis, but a direct result of preventing the entry of building materials and disrupting reconstruction, as people are living in torn tents and cracked houses without safety or dignity,” Basal said.
He also said Palestinians were forced to set up their tents on the beach due to the lack of available space inside the cities as a result of the extensive Israeli destruction of them.
Gaza’s Government Media Office reported that 127,000 of the 135,000 tents have been rendered unusable because of the recent extreme weather.
The harsh winter conditions have caused the collapse of previously damaged buildings by relentless Israeli bombing, leading to the deaths of at least 25 people, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health.
“All the victims were displaced Palestinians living in forced displacement camps,” it noted in a statement.
Medical sources in Gaza have reported that hospitals across the territory have been observing an influx of patients, particularly children, with cold-related illnesses.
A medical source in Al-Shif hospital in Gaza City confirmed that there is an “unprecedented surge in patients, with more than 500 people seeking treatment daily over the past two weeks.” A large number of cases came with severe and simultaneous respiratory symptoms, including high fever, breathing difficulties, extreme fatigue, along with gastrointestinal disorders, persistent coughing, and chest pain, the source added.
The source said doctors note wide variation in how the illness progresses: while some patients recover quickly, others deteriorate rapidly and require hospitalization as the absence of diagnostic equipment has prevented the Ministry of Health from identifying the nature of some viruses currently spreading in the Gaza Strip.
The source noted that medical teams say the cases do not appear to be COVID-19 or seasonal influenza, emphasizing that the symptoms are more severe and widespread than those typically associated with either.
UNRWA confirmed that “harsh weather in Gaza has led to a surge in respiratory illnesses. Severe overcrowding and the lack of dignified living conditions have contributed to an increase in skin diseases, and the spread of lice.”
Israel’s two-year war has destroyed more than 80 percent of the structures across Gaza, forcing hundreds of thousands of families to take refuge in flimsy tents or overcrowded makeshift shelters.
Humanitarian groups have immediately urged Israel to allow unimpeded deliveries of aid to Gaza.
Despite the ceasefire which took effect in October, Israel has continued to kill Palestinians in Gaza and restricted the entry of much-needed aid, violating the agreement.
“Entry of distribution and aid in the Gaza Strip will proceed without interference from the two parties through the United Nations and its agencies, and the Red Crescent, in addition to other international institutions not associated in any manner with either party,” Trump’s “20-point peace plan” says.
Recently, more than 100 aid groups accused Israel of obstructing life-saving aid from entering Gaza and called on it to end its “weaponisation of aid”. — QNN
