KABUL (Pajhwok): A newborn baby has frozen to death in a makeshift tent encampment in Al-Mawasi, southern Gaza, underscoring the dire humanitarian crisis facing displaced Palestinian families amid Israel’s continued assault on the Gaza Strip.
Sela Mahmoud Al-Fasih, just a few days old, died from the extreme cold in the coastal region of Al-Mawasi on Wednesday, according to Dr. Munir Al-Bursh, the director general of Gaza’s Ministry of Health.
In a post on social media, Dr. Al-Bursh confirmed the baby's death, describing it as a consequence of freezing temperatures and inadequate shelter, CNN reported.
In the past 48 hours, at least two other infants — a three-day-old and a one-month-old — also succumbed to cold and the lack of proper heating in the overcrowded tents, Dr. Ahmed Al-Farra, head of pediatrics and obstetrics at Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, told CNN.
Al-Mawasi, a region west of Rafah, had previously been designated by Israel as a “humanitarian area,” but it has repeatedly been targeted by Israeli airstrikes.
Thousands of displaced Palestinians have sought refuge there, living in makeshift tents constructed from cloth and nylon, with limited protection from the freezing temperatures.
CNN footage from the scene showed Sela’s tiny body wrapped in a white shroud as her father, Mahmoud Al-Fasih, clutched her in his arms. In a heart-wrenching interview, her mother, Nariman, explained that despite her efforts to warm her baby, they had no extra clothing or shelter to shield her from the cold.
"[Sela] died from the cold," Nariman told CNN. "I was warming her and holding her. But… we didn’t have extra clothes for me to warm this girl."
Human rights advocates have long warned that children are bearing the brunt of the ongoing violence and siege in Gaza.
Dr. Al-Bursh said that more than 17,600 children have been killed since the war began.
Meanwhile, Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN agency for Palestine refugees, said that one child in Gaza is killed every hour, citing recent UN data.
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