21 Children Die as Bitter Cold Swarms Gaza

Deaths caused by extreme cold in the Gaza Strip have risen to 24, including 21 children, since the start of Israel’s genocidal war in October 2023, local authorities said Tuesday.

In a statement, the government media office said seven children have died since the beginning of the current winter season due to severe cold conditions, bringing the total number of cold-related deaths to 24 as of Jan. 13, 2026.

“All the victims were displaced Palestinians living in forced displacement camps,” the statement said.

The media office also reported that around 7,000 tents have been swept away by the ongoing low-pressure weather system battering the enclave.

It warned of “catastrophic humanitarian consequences” as freezing temperatures return to Gaza amid the continued Israeli onslaught and suffocating blockade, which have caused widespread destruction of homes and infrastructure and forced more than 1.5 million Palestinians into displacement camps lacking the most basic living conditions.

The office said the situation poses a serious threat to the lives of the most vulnerable groups, particularly children, citing a near-total absence of heating supplies, lack of safe shelter, and severe shortages of blankets and winter clothing, compounded by ongoing restrictions on the entry of humanitarian aid.

It held Israel fully responsible for the deaths, which the statement described as part of a broader policy of “slow killing, starvation, and forced displacement.”

The media office urged the international community, the United Nations, and humanitarian and human rights organizations to take immediate action to establish safe shelters, allow the unrestricted entry of heating and relief supplies, and prevent further loss of life according to Anadolu.

The Israeli army has killed more than 71,000 people, most of them women and children, and injured over 171,000 others in a brutal offensive since October 2023 that left the Gaza Strip in ruins.

Despite a ceasefire that began last Oct. 10, the Israeli army has continued its attacks, killing 447 Palestinians and wounding 1,246 others, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

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Trump on Gaza ‘Board of Peace’

US President Donald Trump is expected to name world leaders who will form part of a “Board of Peace” to administer the Gaza Strip amid a fragile ceasefire implemented last October, according to reports.

“The Board of Peace is being formed,” Trump told the press aboard Air Force One on Sunday, the Anadolu news agency reported. “Essentially, it’s the most important leaders of the most important nations … You take the most important leaders and nations, that’s who the Board of Peace is going to be.”

The board, which is expected to be chaired by Trump and include around 15 world leaders, will supervise a yet-to-be-formed Palestinian technocratic government and oversee the reconstruction process in Gaza outlined in the US president’s 20-point plan.

Bloomberg reported on Sunday that the aim of the board “is to help form an interim government to replace Hamas and to attract a foreign security force as well as funds.”

Bulgarian Diplomat

It is unclear who will be named as members of the board. However, last week Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced that Nickolay Mladenov, a Bulgarian politician and diplomat, “is set to become the Director of the Gaza Strip Board of Peace.” He made the statement following a meeting with Mladenov in Jerusalem.

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Countries expected to join the board include the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Egypt and Türkiye, according to Anadolu.

Details Outlined

On Friday, Palestinian-American academic Dr. Bisharah Bahbah, who reportedly served as a mediator between Hamas and US officials, issued a statement addressed to the “people of Gaza,” on the latest developments.

Bahbah said it is expected that the Gaza Peace Council will be announced “within the next week, with its first official meeting to be held on the sidelines of the Davos meetings in the third week of this month.”

Palestinian factions, he added, are also expected to meet in Cairo next week, following the announcement of the Peace Council’s members.

“During the Cairo meeting, the names of an independent technocratic committee to manage Gaza’s affairs are expected to be announced. The committee is expected to consist of twelve members,” he stated.

Bahbah noted that “the main entities” responsible for managing the reconstruction process are expected to be formed in about thirty days.

Aid Bodies Targeted

He stated that Israel “is currently seeking to withdraw recognition from most international institutions providing aid to the Gaza Strip, arguing that these institutions are hostile to Israel.”

In the future, he noted, aid is expected to be distributed through mechanisms supervised by privately owned companies.

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After the last Israeli body was handed over, Israel “will no longer have a pretext to close the Rafah crossing,” he said, adding that he expects the crossing to be reopened immediately thereafter.

Bahbah emphasized that he is “fully aware” of the extent of the suffering of the Palestinian population “due to the lack of adequate food, healthcare, shelter, and other basic necessities of a dignified life.” He believed “this year will mark a fundamental turning point for the better.”

Staggering Death Toll

Trump unveiled a 20-point plan on September 29, 2025, aimed at ending Israel’s genocidal assault on Gaza.

Despite the ceasefire that took effect in October last year, Israel has killed 442 Palestinians and injured 1,240 more, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.

The total death toll since it launched its genocidal assault on Gaza two years ago has risen to 71,419, with 171,318 injured according to the Palestine Chronicle.

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Bride Killed 2 Days After Wedding!

Silence has wrapped itself around Ahmed Abu Saada’s life since the moment he lost his wife, just two days after their wedding, when a crumbling wall collapsed onto their tent in Gaza, killing her instantly.

What was meant to be the beginning of a shared life turned into a devastating memory, leaving the young Palestinian trapped in grief, surrounded by fragments of dreams that barely had time to form.

Ahmed, a man in his twenties with a hearing disability, had tried to rebuild his life after Israel’s devastating war on Gaza, defying displacement, loss, and hardship. He met Walaa Jahha, and together they chose to face life’s cruelty with hope, planning a modest future inside a tent, the only shelter available to them.

On Dec. 27, the couple held a simple wedding amid displacement. With Ahmed’s family having fled the Tuffah neighborhood in eastern Gaza City after their home was destroyed by Israeli bombardment, the newlyweds set up their tent near damaged buildings along the city’s shoreline.

Two days later, their fragile joy was shattered.

A powerful winter storm swept through Gaza, bringing fierce winds and heavy rain. A partially destroyed wall from a building damaged by earlier Israeli strikes collapsed onto the couple’s tent. Walaa was killed instantly.

Since that night, Ahmed spends his days withdrawn and silent, scrolling through his phone, replaying photos from a wedding that lasted just hours, now transformed into a source of unbearable pain, his father told Anadolu.

“Ahmed tried to overcome his hearing disability and live like any young man,” said his father, Saad al-Din Abu Saada.

“But he found himself facing an even greater tragedy. He was left with a deep psychological shock and can no longer interact as he used to.”

The father said his son has become isolated, spending most of his time lying silently on his bed, the same mattress that still bears traces of his wife’s blood.

– Living beside danger

Ahmed’s family said they had no choice but to pitch the newlyweds’ tent beside damaged and unstable buildings, amid the absence of safe housing alternatives after widespread destruction across Gaza.

Local reports indicate that thousands of tons of rubble from Israeli bombardment remain scattered throughout residential areas, posing serious structural risks and increasing the likelihood of sudden collapses.

Since December, dozens of buildings previously damaged by Israeli airstrikes have collapsed under harsh winter conditions, killing and injuring Palestinians sheltering nearby.

Ahmed’s father appealed to the international community, and to the conscience of humanity, to look at Gaza’s people with compassion, urging action to provide safe shelter, dignity and protection for families who have already lost everything.

According to recent figures, more than 18 Palestinians have been killed by the collapse of at least 50 damaged buildings during recent storms.

With Israel continuing to block the entry of mobile homes and construction materials, many Palestinians are left with no option but to live beside, or inside, structures on the brink of collapse.

For Ahmed, the tent remains, the wall has fallen, and love, brief and fragile, has become another casualty of war’s long shadow as reported by Anadolu.

The Israeli army has killed more than 71,400 people, mostly women and children, and injured over 171,000 others in a brutal offensive since October 2023 that has left the enclave in ruins.

Despite the ceasefire, the Israeli army has continued its attacks, killing 442 Palestinians and wounding more than 1,200 others, according to the Health Ministry.

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Araghchi: US Contacts Maintained Now!

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said Monday evening that contacts between him and US envoy Steve Witkoff “continued before and after the protests, and are still ongoing.”

Iran is “ready for all options,” Araghchi told the Qatar-based Al Jazeera television.

The top diplomat expressed hope that Washington would choose “the wise option,” amid ongoing exchanges between the two sides.

“Some ideas are on the table with Washington and are currently being studied” by Tehran, he said, without giving further details.

However, he stressed that “it is not possible to combine the ideas proposed by Washington with its launching of threats against our country.”

On the possibility of a direct meeting with Witkoff, Araghchi said “there are ideas being discussed,” according to Anadolu.

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