• Medics warns that more children, elderly people and patients could die from the cold inside rain-soaked tents

ISTANBUL

An eight-month-old Palestinian infant died on Thursday from severe cold in the southern Gaza Strip city of Khan Younis, amid worsening winter conditions faced by displaced families following a two-year Israeli genocide.

The baby, identified as Rahaf Abu Jazar, died as temperatures dropped sharply in the area, as children and families sheltered in fragile, makeshift tents.

Confirming the death, head of the Health Ministry in Gaza, Munir al-Bursh, warned that more children, the elderly and patients could die from the cold inside rain-soaked tents.

“Low temperatures are ravaging children, the elderly and the sick,” he told Anadolu, describing cases of severe shivering, loss of body heat, respiratory deterioration and possible death.

He said humidity and stagnant water inside the tents create “a perfect environment” for pneumonia and respiratory infections, while patients are unable to find medicine or medical care.

Gaza’s Civil Defense said entire camps have been submerged by rainwater, including sites in the al-Mawasi area of Khan Younis, al-Bassa and al-Baraka in Deir al-Balah, the Central Market area in Nuseirat, and the Yarmouk and Port (al-Mina) areas.

“Displaced citizens, with their children and women, are drowning now,” the Civil Defense said of the “tragic” scenes unfolding inside the camps, adding that heavy rainfall has swept away tents despite repeated humanitarian appeals for urgent intervention.

Spokesperson Mahmoud Basal told Anadolu that the agency received more than 2,500 distress calls in the past 24 hours from displaced families whose tents were flooded during the storm.

Hundreds of tents sheltering displaced Palestinians across the enclave were flooded for a second consecutive day after heavy overnight rainfall linked to a new winter storm.

The Civil Defense said it evacuated dozens of tents in Rafah, in the south, after they were completely submerged.

Basal warned that more than 250,000 families in displacement camps across the enclave are vulnerable to cold weather and rainwater in their worn-out tents.

Earlier this week, the Gaza media office had warned that a polar low-pressure system would affect the enclave starting Wednesday until Friday evening, threatening hundreds of thousands of displaced families.

Since Wednesday, thousands of tents housing survivors of Israel’s war have turned into pools of water, soaking bedding, clothing, and food supplies and leaving hundreds of Palestinian families exposed to the cold without warmth or shelter.

According to earlier data, Gaza needs around 300,000 tents and prefabricated housing units to meet the most basic shelter needs of Palestinians after Israel destroyed infrastructure over two years of war. The UN estimates the cost of reconstructing Gaza at about $70 billion.

Israel has killed more than 70,000 Palestinians and wounded over 171,000 in Gaza since October 2023. The assault came to a halt under a ceasefire deal that took effect two months ago.