A seventh Palestinian baby has died due to freezing temperatures as over a million displaced Gazans endure severe winter conditions, with more thunderstorms expected to worsen the humanitarian crisis.
Jumaa al-Batran, a one-month-old infant, succumbed to hypothermia on Monday in a tent in Deir al-Balah, just a day after her twin brother, Ali, passed away from the same condition, according to Reuters. Doctors at Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital attributed Ali’s death to the freezing temperatures plaguing the besieged territory.
The twins’ deaths bring the total number of Palestinian infants who have died from cold-related conditions in Gaza this week to seven. Their father told Reuters that he found Jumaa’s body “frozen like ice,” highlighting the dire living conditions faced by displaced families.
Most of Gaza’s population, repeatedly uprooted by ongoing Israeli assaults, now resides in makeshift shelters that provide little insulation from the cold. Humanitarian aid has fallen short of meeting basic needs, leaving families exposed to freezing weather.
The Palestinian Meteorological Department has warned of continued rainfall and thunderstorms across Gaza on New Year’s Eve, with temperatures expected to remain dangerously low.
