At least six Palestinian infants have reportedly died from hypothermia during a severe cold spell in the Gaza Strip, medical officials said.
Dr Saeed Salah, medical director of the Friends of the Patient Charitable Hospital, said Tuesday that three newborns, aged between one and two days, died shortly after being admitted.
He also confirmed the death of a 60-day-old baby, who froze to death inside a tent in al-Mawasi, Khan Younis. Two more children later succumbed to the cold, medical sources told Al Jazeera, bringing the total to six.
Salah added that the hospital’s nursery department had recently received eight cases of severe hypothermia, all requiring intensive care.
According to the United Nations, at least eight newborns died of hypothermia in Gaza in December alone, while 74 children perished “amid the brutal conditions of winter”.
The latest deaths come as Israel continues to block the entry of temporary housing into Gaza, despite agreeing to allow it under the terms of the ceasefire agreement.
Thousands of mobile homes remain stranded at the Rafah crossing with Egypt, awaiting Israeli authorisation to enter the besieged Palestinian territory.
While Israel committed to allowing the provision of 60,000 mobile homes and 200,000 tents, a Hamas spokesperson said earlier this month that only the tents had been delivered, and that no mobile homes were allowed in.
Hamas decried Tuesday’s deaths in a statement, calling them a result of Israel’s “criminal” policies. It also called on mediators and the international community to intervene and ensure the entry of shelter and other essential humanitarian supplies into the Gaza Strip.
Israeli attacks on West Bank healthcare system
The World Health Organization (WHO) has also raised alarm over escalating attacks on healthcare facilities in the occupied West Bank.
“We see the current flashpoints of violence, attacks on healthcare … starkly rising in the West Bank,” Dr Rik Peeperkorn, WHO representative in the occupied Palestinian territories, told journalists during a press briefing from Gaza on Tuesday.
Between April and December 2024, the WHO documented 694 attacks on healthcare facilities in the West Bank.
Israeli military operations in the occupied West Bank have intensified in recent months, particularly in the north.
In Tulkarem refugee camp, Israeli forces have maintained a siege for 30 consecutive days, forcibly displacing residents.
Faisal Salama, head of the Popular Committee for Tulkarem Camp Services, told Wafa news on Tuesday that Israeli forces had demolished at least 40 residential buildings, including 100 apartments, and set fire to at least 10 homes.
In Jenin, where Israel has been conducting a month-long assault, more than 20,000 people have been forcibly displaced.
The Jenin municipality reported this week that Israeli forces had completely demolished at least 120 homes in the city’s refugee camp.