JUMA AL-BATAN, a 20-day-old baby, died from ‘severe cold’ yesterday, while his twin brother remains in the intensive care unit at a local hospital, Gaza’s Health Ministry said in a statement.
Marwan al-Hamas, head of field hospitals in Gaza, confirmed the death, saying it brings to five the number of children ‘who have died due to severe cold’ in recent weeks.
‘There is no electricity. The water is cold, and there is no gas, heating or food,’ says Yahya al-Batran, the father of the infant.
‘My children are dying in front of my eyes, and nobody cares. Juma has died, and I fear that his brother Ali may follow.’
Yahya al-Batran says he and his wife were living in a tattered tent in Deir el-Balah in central Gaza.
In the midst of Israel’s ongoing war and siege, the baby boy froze to death on Sunday inside his displaced family’s tent in Deir al-Balah City in central Gaza as a result of the extreme cold weather and the absence of means of heating.
Medics said that the infant died of hypothermia as a result of his presence in a fragile tent that had no protection from the extreme cold temperatures in the Gaza Strip.
Last Friday, a male nurse called Ahmed al-Zaharna also died of hypothermia inside his tent in southern Gaza.
Hundreds of thousands are packed in tent camps along coastal areas in western Gaza as the cold and wet winter has already set in.The Government Media Office (GMO) reports that 110,000 out of 135,000 tents used by displaced Palestinians in the Gaza Strip are now out of service and have ‘completely deteriorated’.
GMO said that the Israeli occupation army is ‘causing a tragic humanitarian crisis’ that is once again threatening the lives of thousands of civilians as the freezing winter cold has already set in.
‘This catastrophic humanitarian situation is a direct result of the genocide being 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 GMO said.
More heavy rain is expected over the besieged enclave starting later today and is forecast to worsen by Tuesday.
This exacerbates the suffering of more than two million people in Gaza, many of whom are bereft of adequate shelter.
More rain and strong winds would especially endanger Palestinians forced to shelter near coastal areas, with some waves expected to rise as high as 2 metres, it added.
300 at London medics Gaza vigil
THREE HUNDRED people joined an emergency vigil in Piccadilly Circus on Saturday night, called by Healthworkersandallies4pal and Palforumuk to protest against the destruction of Kamal Adwan Hospital, the last functioning hospital in northern Gaza.
On Friday 27th December, the IOF (Israeli Occupation Force) stormed and bombed the hospital, forcibly removing critically ill patients needing full life support, and staff.
The IOF set fire to departments whilst staff and patients were still inside.
Over the last 80 days Dr Hussam Abu Safiya, the Director of the hospital, has given daily updates of the siege and deteriorating conditions, including the cutting off of water and blocking of food and medical supplies.
He has stayed true to his Hippocratic Oath and refused to leave his patients despite members of his family, including his son, being targeted and killed by the IOF.
He, along with many other staff, have now been detained for interrogation.
The vigil called for the immediate release of all staff detained, for urgent medial aid to be allowed in and for those involved to be held accountable for breaches of international law.
Repeated attacks on the healthcare system in Gaza are destroying the conditions for life and there are clear signs of ethnic cleansing of Gaza by Israel, as outlined in an MSF report on the 19th December.
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