The Palestinian Health Ministry reported on Saturday that ten children in Gaza have died from hypothermia since the start of winter, as the humanitarian crisis persists into the fourth month of the ceasefire.
Within the last 24 hours, a three-month-old infant died from extreme cold at Al Aqsa Martyrs hospital, reports CNN.
Dr Ahmad Al Faraa, the head of the paediatrics department at Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis, explained that children are the group most severely affected when temperatures drop.
He noted that infants are especially fragile due to limited fat tissue, low energy reserves, and a larger surface area relative to their size which increases heat loss. Those born prematurely or with a low birth weight are considered the most vulnerable.
The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs stated on Friday that hundreds of thousands of people remain in displacement sites where they are exposed to rain and cold.
Strong winds over the past week have reportedly damaged hundreds of tents.
Philippe Lazzarini, who leads the primary UN agency in the Palestinian territories, remarked that the combination of plunging temperatures, floods, and wind is compounding the misery for the vast majority of the population who are forcibly displaced and living in tents or damaged buildings.
Lazzarini further noted that 92 per cent of homes have been destroyed or damaged, and a significant number of unexploded bombs have yet to be cleared.
According to Dr Munir Al-Barsh, the Director General of the Health Ministry, heavy winter rains led to the collapse of homes which killed 24 people.
In a social media post on Friday, Dr Al-Barsh stated that the lack of medicines, contaminated water, and hunger have weakened bodies and triggered widespread outbreaks of disease.
Malnutrition is also impacting pregnant women, with Dr Al Faraa noting that many babies are born with low birth weights.
This trend is attributed to maternal psychological stress, a lack of prenatal care, and a deficiency in vitamins and nutritional supplements during pregnancy.
On the diplomatic front, US President Donald Trump’s foreign envoy Steve Witkoff and son-in-law Jared Kushner are scheduled to meet Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday.
The meeting is intended to discuss the transition to the second phase of the truce, which is expected to involve the disarmament of Hamas and the establishment of an international peacekeeping force.
Meanwhile, the Israeli military is maintaining its operations against alleged militants along the “Yellow Line,” a boundary inside Gaza that separates Hamas-controlled areas from those under Israeli control.
The Israel Defence Forces stated on Saturday that troops in the northern Gaza Strip killed several individuals who crossed the Yellow Line to plant an explosive device and approached the soldiers.
