Palestinian baby dies from cold in Gaza amid Israeli restrictions on aid

A Palestinian infant has died from the cold in a tent sheltering his displaced family in southern Gaza, his father and a doctor said, as Israel continues to impose severe restrictions on winter supplies to the war-ravaged territory.

Nine-month-old Kinan Ahmed Raqiq “died from hypothermia” in Khan Younis, in the southern region of the enclave, a doctor who spoke on he condition of anonymity told the AFP news agency on Thursday.

Ahmed Raqiq, the baby’s father, told AFP that Kinan died after cold temperatures hit Gaza overnight.

“I woke up only to see his skin had turned blue so I rushed him to Nasser Hospital, but he had already died from hypothermia and frozen to death,” he said.

“I am in complete shock. I found myself holding my son wrapped in a burial shroud,” he said outside the hospital, dried tears on his face as he held his son wrapped in a white sheet.

Gaza’s Civil Defence spokesman, Mahmoud Basal, confirmed the infant’s death after exposure to extreme cold, Palestinian news network Al-Quds reported.

Winter looming

The death comes as the United Kingdom, Qatar and Jordan led a coalition of more than 50 countries and organisations calling on Israel to provide immediate entry of critical items for shelter, fuel, water, sanitation and health to Gaza.

With winter arriving, the group said, “far too many people in Gaza are still without adequate shelter, and risk exposure to hypothermia, respiratory infections, waterborne diseases and other preventable illnesses”.

The statement echoed recent criticism of Israel over its restrictions by the United States-led Board of Peace and United Nations humanitarian chief Tom Fletcher.

Responding to the Board of Peace, Israeli caretaker Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said that Israel had allowed in supplies including 91,000 tents and that “Hamas alone is responsible for the suffering of the people of Gaza.”

As well as the cold, Gaza has experienced flooding this week following heavy rains, affecting tens of thousands of people’s tents. Five people, including three children, died the day after the flooding when a sandy embankment eroded and collapsed onto their tents.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said that as of November 8, 26,000 households were affected by storms.

Around 65 percent of Gaza’s people are still living displaced in tents or other temporary shelter, OCHA said.

James Elder, spokesman on Gaza for the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), warned that the flooding was just the beginning of the cold season.

“It’s very important to know how bad things are in Gaza. It’s not yet winter,” Elder said.

“We’re weeks away from winter, so we are getting unprecedented rain and cold.”