Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has raised fresh alarm that infants and young children in Gaza are dying as freezing winter conditions collide with a severe lack of shelter and lifesaving assistance, urging Israel to immediately loosen restrictions on humanitarian aid entering the territory.
The medical charity said the ongoing cold spell, paired with widespread displacement and poor living conditions, has already claimed the lives of at least 13 people, including newborns. Among them was a 29-day-old premature baby, Said Asad Abedin, who died from acute hypothermia in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
MSF explained that heavy rain, strong winds and plunging temperatures are worsening an already desperate situation, especially for families living in fragile tents or damaged buildings. Another infant, two-week-old Mohammed Khalil Abu al-Khair, also froze to death earlier in the week due to the absence of warm shelter and clothing, Gaza’s Ministry of Health reported.
Ahmed al-Farra, head of the maternity and paediatric department at Nasser Medical Complex, warned that hypothermia poses a serious and often fatal risk to babies. He said that without heating, mobile homes or proper caravans for displaced families, more deaths are inevitable.
Medical workers on the ground say hospitals are receiving babies in critical condition. Bilal Abu Saada, a nursing supervisor at Nasser Hospital, told MSF that children are arriving severely cold, some with barely detectable vital signs. He added that children are dying simply because they lack the most basic items needed to survive winter.
Beyond the fatalities, MSF noted a sharp rise in respiratory infections, which it expects to worsen as winter continues, particularly endangering children under five. The organisation stressed that hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians remain exposed in flooded, torn tents and called on Israeli authorities to allow a large-scale increase in aid deliveries.
Meanwhile, violence has continued despite the ceasefire. Palestinian news agency Wafa reported that Israeli forces shelled areas east of Gaza City and opened fire east of Khan Younis. An Israeli strike on a shelter for displaced people on Friday killed at least six individuals, while graphic footage showed civilians scrambling to rescue the wounded.
