GAZA CITY – A 20-day-old baby died on Sunday due to severe cold and a lack of heating in refugee tents in the central Gaza Strip, the Health Ministry said.
The infant, Jumaa al-Batran, “passed away due to the intense cold” in Deir al-Balah city, the ministry explained in a statement.
“His twin brother remains in critical care in the neonatal intensive care unit at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza,” it added.
The new fatality brings the number of babies who froze to death in Gaza to five in the past week, according to local health authorities.
The Israeli army has continued a brutal offensive on the Gaza Strip that has killed nearly 45,500 people, mostly women and children, since a Hamas attack on Oct. 7 last year despite a UN Security Council resolution calling for an immediate cease-fire.
Tel Aviv has imposed a stifling blockade on Gaza, leaving the territory’s 2.3 million population on the verge of famine.
Last month, the International Criminal Court issued arrest warrants for Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his former Defense Minister Yoav Gallant for war crimes and crimes against humanity in Gaza.
Israel is also facing a genocide case at the International Court of Justice for its actions in Gaza. -AA
