Three babies freeze to death in Gaza

Three babies succumbed to the harsh winter conditions in the Al-Mawasi camp of southern Gaza, underscoring the severe humanitarian crisis faced by Palestinian children displaced from their homes amidst Israel’s ongoing military offensive on the strip.

A newborn baby, Sela Mahmoud Al-Fasih, “froze to death from the extreme cold” in Al-Mawasi, Dr Munir Al-Bursh, the director general of the Ministry of Health in Gaza, posted on X on Wednesday.

Including Al-Fasih, “at least two other infants—a three-day-old and a one-month-old—have died from the low temperatures and lack of access to a warm shelter,” CNN quoted Dr Ahmed Al-Farra, the head of Pediatrics and obstetrics at Naseer Hospital, in Khan Younis. 

“She [Sela] died from the cold,” her mother, Nariman, told CNN on Wednesday. “I was warming her and holding her. But… [We] didn’t have extra clothes for me to warm this girl.” 

According to human rights advocate Philippe Lazzarini, the chief of the UN agency for Palestine refugees, over 17,600 children have been killed since the beginning of the war, highlighting that Gaza has been experiencing the loss of one child every hour.

Over 17,000 children have been separated from their parents during the war, while many are unable to receive adequate care in medical facilities.

Dr Al-Farra said premature babies were dying due to a scarcity of medical supplies, including ventilators and medicine necessary to save children’s lives.