Nine-month-old boy dies of hypothermia in Gaza tent as winter storms hit

A death in a family tent

A nine-month-old boy died of hypothermia in the tent where his family was sheltering in Khan Younis, in southern Gaza, Palestinian sources reported on Thursday, 12 November. A Palestinian doctor who examined the body told AFP, on condition of anonymity, that the child had died of the cold. The Civil Defence, a first-response body that operates under the authority of Hamas, also confirmed that the boy died after exposure to intense cold. The father told AFP that he woke to find his son's skin had turned blue and rushed him to Nasser Hospital, where he had already died. According to the father, the tent had no heating and offered no protection against strong winds or water seeping through its fabric.

Storms flood tents and kill five

Rain that fell on Saturday, 7 November, flooded tens of thousands of tents housing displaced families, Palestinian sources said. Rescuers counted five deaths, three of them children, after a sand embankment gave way onto tents the day following the flooding. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that as of 8 November, 26,000 households had been affected by storms. Al Jazeera reported that water soaked a blood glucose monitor and damaged solar systems used to light homes and charge phones in central and northern Gaza. Abu Zayed Electricity Company, despite winter preparations, could not stop water entering several of its facilities, damaging equipment.

Winter and shelter gaps

OCHA said around 65 percent of Gaza's people remain displaced and living in tents or other temporary shelter. UNICEF put the number of displaced people living in tents, makeshift shelters or damaged buildings at about 1.7 million, out of a population of roughly 2.1 million. Families with no regular income struggle to buy winter clothing, and a 27-year-old woman sheltering with 18 relatives under a tarp west of Gaza City said her family could not afford warm clothes or blankets. Rain soaked the mattresses, pillows and blankets in her family's shelter, and the family relies on community kitchens for food.

Displaced in tents or shelters1,700,000

Total population2,100,000

Displaced in tents or shelters

1700000 people

Total population

2100000 people

Data from the article text

Aid restrictions and a political dispute

The death came as the United Kingdom, Qatar and Jordan led a coalition of more than 50 countries and organisations urging Israel to let in urgently needed goods, including shelter materials, fuel, water, sanitation and health supplies. The coalition warned that many people in Gaza remain without adequate shelter as winter arrives, leaving them exposed to hypothermia, respiratory infections and waterborne diseases. The statement echoed criticism of Israel's restrictions from the United States-led Board of Peace and UN humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher. Israeli caretaker Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu responded to the Board of Peace by claiming Israel had let in 91,000 tents and other supplies, and said:

“Hamas alone is responsible for the suffering of the people of Gaza.”