Home / Disasters and Accidents / Gaza's babies freeze: Tent life claims infant life
Gaza's babies freeze: Tent life claims infant life
20 Dec
Summary
- A premature newborn died of hypothermia in a Gaza tent.
- Cold temperatures have claimed 13 lives in Gaza recently.
- Thousands of Palestinians live in inadequate tent shelters.
A devastating loss in Gaza highlights the extreme vulnerability of infants to freezing temperatures. A premature newborn, Saeed, died from hypothermia in a makeshift tent, becoming the second infant casualty from cold in recent days. His parents desperately tried to shield him from the elements, but the infant's low body weight and underdeveloped fat tissues proved fatal.
Doctors at Nasser Hospital have issued stark warnings, stating that more tragedies are imminent unless conditions in the overcrowded tent camps are improved. Overnight temperatures have plunged to 6 degrees Celsius (43 Fahrenheit), posing a severe threat, particularly to premature babies. These tents offer minimal protection against the biting wind and cold, exacerbating the crisis.
The infant's death brings the total fatalities from a recent storm to 13, including 11 who died in building collapses and the two babies lost to the cold. Aid groups report insufficient shelter materials entering Gaza, despite ceasefire agreements. Most of Gaza's 2 million residents are displaced and live in precarious tent encampments, facing ongoing hardship.
