Three newborn Palestinian babies have died from extreme cold in the al-Mawasi refugee camp in Gaza, after Israel stopped humanitarian supplies to the region.
As gathered, the babies, aged three weeks, three days, and one month, died of hypothermia as temperatures plummeted and Israel’s blockade on food, water, and essential winter supplies continued to exacerbate the crisis.
According to the director of the children’s ward at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, Ahmed al-Farra, on Wednesday, three-week-old Sila al-Faseeh and the other babies were brought to the hospital after dying of Hypothermia.
Describing the living conditions in the refugee camp, Sila’s father, Mahmoud Al-Faseeh, disclosed that his family has been residing in their tent at al-Mawasi, an area of dunes and farmland on Gaza’s Mediterranean coast, close to the southern town of Khan Younis.
According to Al-farra, the baby was in good health and was born naturally, but because of the severe cold in the tents there was a significant decrease in temperature which made her bodily system stop working and led to her death.
“Sila had woken up crying three times overnight. In the morning, we found her unresponsive, her body stiff, “like wood”, i rushed the baby to Nasser Hospital, but it was already too late to revive her,” he said.
It was learnt that the family’s tent was not sealed from the wind, and the ground was cold, with temperatures on Tuesday night dropping to 9 degrees Celsius (48 degrees Fahrenheit).
This tragic incident came two weeks after the United Nations raised concerns over a worsening humanitarian crisis in Palestine, where thousands of civilians battle daily for survival due to prolonged conflict and an aid blockade, resulting in severe shortages of essential resources such as food, water, and medicine.
The international body disclosed that between 65,000 and 75,000 Palestinians in the northern Gaza region were currently facing dire conditions of food and water shortages as well as unavailable electricity and healthcare services.
Hundreds of thousands are packed into tent camps along the coast as the cold, wet winter sets in. Aid groups have struggled to deliver food and supplies and say there are shortages of blankets, warm clothing, and firewood.
