CrossFireArabia
Seven Palestinians, including six babies and a nurse, have died from the extreme cold in war-torn Gaza Strip over the past few nights, according to the Government Media Office. The death toll is expected to rise due to the dire conditions faced by displaced people.
In a statement issued, Monday, the Office said, “The death toll from extreme cold and frost waves among the displaced in tents, whose homes were destroyed by the Israeli occupation, has risen to seven, and the number is expected to increase due to the dire conditions.”
“We have repeatedly warned of the dangers posed by the approaching weather fronts, the winter season, and the cold waves, which coincide with the tragic reality faced by our Palestinian people,” the Office added.
“They are enduring killing, genocide, and the destruction of homes and vital infrastructure and forced displacement.”
“It is expected that heavy rains will continue to fall, along with ongoing frost waves and cold weather in the coming days, posing a great risk and a real threat to the lives of the displaced who are enduring tragic suffering.”
The Office said the “Israeli occupation has forced them to flee to dilapidated tents that do not protect them from the winter cold or severe frost waves.”
Frozen to Death
Six Palestinian babies have frozen to death in Gaza over the past few nights, including three who died of hypothermia in the so-called “humanitarian zone” in al-Mawasi, and 20-day-old twins born one month prematurely.
Palestinian nurse Ahmed al-Zaharneh, who was among the crews working at the European Gaza Hospital, also died on Friday because of “extreme” weather conditions, according to the Health Ministry.
The Ministry said, “His body was found inside his tent in al-Mawasi area, west of the city of Khan Younis, southern Gaza.”
“This incident comes in light of the difficult humanitarian conditions that displaced citizens are experiencing, as the suffering of Gaza residents increases due to low temperatures and the lack of heating means in tents,” the Ministry added.
Dilapidated Tents
The deaths highlight the dire conditions in Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians are crammed into makeshift tents, fleeing Israeli shelling from various parts of the strip.
Gaza’s Government Media Office stated on Saturday that 110,000 out of 135,000 tents used by displaced Palestinians in the war-torn Gaza Strip are now out of service and have “completely deteriorated”.
The Office accused the Israeli military of “causing a tragic humanitarian crisis” that is once again putting the lives of thousands of civilians at risk as the freezing winter sets in.
“This catastrophic humanitarian situation is a direct result of the genocide committed by the ‘Israeli’ occupation army, which has completely destroyed hundreds of thousands of homes of these citizens, forcing them to resort to living in tents that lack the minimum requirements for a decent life,” the statement said according to the Quds News Network.
