At Least 6 Palestinian Babies Freeze To Death As Gaza Families Look For Shelter

At least six Palestinian newborn babies have recently died from extreme cold in Gaza, as families try to survive the winter with virtually no shelter, no heating and an insufficient amount of humanitarian assistance.

The Friends of the Patient Charity Hospital received nine cases over the past two weeks of premature infants experiencing breathing difficulties, blood circulation failure, low blood pressure and some organ dysfunction caused by the harsh weather, hospital director Saeed Salah said Monday. When the babies arrived at the hospital’s neonatal unit, Salah said their body temperatures were below 34 degrees Celsius — in other words, hypothermic.

“We treated these infants immediately, following the established protocol for cold injury,” the doctor told Middle East Eye. “However, while we managed to save some cases, we were unable to save others. This was due to their critically low body [temperature] or because they arrived too late.”

Out of the nine babies, five of them died. Three of the remaining infants were treated and discharged to their families, while one remains on a ventilator receiving critical support as medical workers stabilize blood pressure. Separately, another infant died from the cold Tuesday morning — this time in southern Gaza, while inside her family’s tent.

The five infants who passed at the hospital had come from north Gaza, which until the current ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas had been walled off from humanitarian assistance as Israeli forces turned the region — from families’ homes to hospitals — into rubble. Displaced Palestinians have begun to return north, but have little to no shelter and no heat in the middle of a cold, rainy winter.

“Cold is definitely an issue. And even people who return to their homes, usually they don’t have four walls around them. They just have some kind of solid structure that they use as a shelter, and then they still put their tarps,” Dr. Adam Hamawy, who recently volunteered in Gaza, told HuffPost earlier this month. 

“They’ve taken their tents with them to what’s left of their homes to survive there. And they don’t have electricity, no refrigeration, no lights,” he continued. “It’s not like everyone just gets to go home. There’s not much standing left that has been untouched in Gaza.”

Local journalists have documented Palestinians’ struggle to survive in the winter with only a tent — made of items like fabric, plastic and cardboard — that often gets flooded due to the frequent rain and wind. More than 945,000 Palestinians are in need of winterization support, according to the United Nations.

“Adults can survive the 50-degree winter — but even adults, not if they’re wet constantly. I mean you’re talking about being wet for three months straight,” Dr. Feroze Sidhwa, who has volunteered in Gaza, told “Democracy Now!” in December. “And furthermore they’re not just wet, they’re living in a land that literally doesn’t have a sewage system anymore. It’s one of the most crowded places in the world. … 1.8 million people are living in a place that has 121 toilets. This is just outrageous.”

The UN agency responsible for assisting Palestinian refugees said that eight babies died of extreme cold in January alone — putting the total number of babies who died of hypothermia this winter at 15.

“For kids in these conditions, it’s not only frightening to be outside, exposed and in the cold, but it’s also very dangerous for their wellbeing,” UNICEF spokesperson Tess Ingram told Al Jazeera.

“We’ve had a number of children in Gaza die of hypothermia and it’s clear here when you meet with families that they don’t have what they need to protect them from that cold,” she continued. “Families are lacking warm clothes for their children. There’s many children without shoes.”

When the ceasefire agreement went into effect on Jan. 19, Israel agreed to increase humanitarian aid to Gaza — including 60,000 caravans and 200,000 tents. But aid groups and Palestinians say that the shelter and fuel aid coming into the territory isn’t remotely sufficient.

“My understanding from our humanitarian colleagues is that there’s been a lot of challenges in getting tents and caravans and tarpaulins in,” Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for the UN secretary-general, said on Tuesday. “We continue to push. Some are going in, but we need more.”

Aid trucks entering Gaza in January carried 4,807 tons of shelter equipment, 1,556 tons of gas and 1,244 tons of medical supplies, according to data from COGAT, the Israeli military’s branch that oversees the aid going into Gaza. The United Nations Relief and Works Agency also distributed a total of 2,485 tents earlier this month in northern Jabalia and Gaza City, while last week shelter partners distributed 2,358 tents in the north.

A spokesperson for COGAT did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.

“The failure to provide these essentials, combined with the extreme cold, will inevitably increase the death toll. This is why I urge everyone to acknowledge the gravity of the situation,” Salah said. “We’re talking about five deaths in two weeks. This is a shocking figure that cannot be ignored.”

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