Seven newborn babies in Gaza have died from the cold in just two weeks, as Israel has blocked the entry of shelters and supplies into Gaza and ignored the UN’s calls to fulfill its obligations under the ceasefire agreement.
On Wednesday, the Gaza Health Ministry confirmed the death of the seventh newborn, Sila Abdel Qader, a 1.5-month-old girl who died in Gaza City amid an ongoing cold snap.
Gaza Health Ministry head Munir al-Bursh has called for “urgent and immediate intervention by international and UN institutions to save the children of Gaza from the consequences of the genocidal war waged by the occupation,” per Al Jazeera.
This follows the death of six other newborn babies in Gaza, aged one month or younger, in the past two weeks, officials have reported. Three of the newborns who died were between one and two days old.
On Tuesday, Saeed Salah, the medical director for the Gaza City’s Friends of the Patient Charitable Hospital, said that the hospital has recently received eight babies suffering from hypothermia.
“On Thursday at dawn, I noticed severe cold symptoms in my baby Amro,” Ola, who had Amro after having two miscarriages, told Wafa. “We took him to Abdel Aziz al-Rantisi Hospital where he stayed for 15 hours. When his condition worsened, he was transferred to the Patient’s Friends Benevolent Society Hospital, where he stayed in the ICU for two hours before his death was declared.”
“I am living in psychological shock and a nervous breakdown. The cold killed my little baby, with his tender body suffering from the lack of warmth that my embrace tried to provide,” Ola said.
Temperatures have been below 50 degrees Fahrenheit amid the cold snap, with persistent rain soaking through the makeshift shelters of families who have been displaced by Israel’s genocide. Adults can survive such temperatures, although with difficulty, but such conditions put babies’ lives at risk.
Yusuf al-Shinbari said that he woke up at midnight on Tuesday and felt that his 2-month-old daughter was cold and had no heartbeat, per The Associated Press.
“Yesterday, I was playing with her,” al-Shinbari said. “I was happy with her. She was a beautiful child, like the moon.”
UN spokesperson for the secretary-general Stephane Dujarric said prior to Wednesday’s death that this brings the total number of Palestinian babies killed from a lack of cold weather supplies this winter to 15 at a minimum, according to counts recorded by health officials. The true toll may be higher, as babies who have died outside of health facilities may not have been recorded.
Dujarric said in a press conference on Tuesday that the UN is urging Israel to increase the amount of shelter and related aid allowed into Gaza.
“My understanding from our humanitarian colleagues is that there’s been a lot of challenges in getting tents and caravans and tarpaulins in,” Dujarric said. “We continue to push. Some are going in, but we need more.”
Under the ceasefire agreement, Israel is supposed to be allowing a surge of tents, mobile homes, and other aid into Gaza. However, Israel has allowed the entry of only 10 percent of the tents specified under the agreement, while still blocking the entry of mobile homes and heavy duty equipment needed to clear rubble.Further, the electrical system is still largely destroyed, and generators are scarce, leaving Palestinians with little ability to warm up in brutal temperatures.
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