Newborns and infants in Gaza have reportedly died of hypothermia, deaths described by the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) as preventable. The news comes amid continued Israeli bombardments and an expected further drop in temperatures.
In Gaza, where hundreds of thousands of people displaced from their homes are sheltering in tents, the temperatures are expected to drop further in the coming days.
Edouard Beigbeder, UNICEF Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, reported in a statement on Friday that, according to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, four newborns and infants died in recent days from hypothermia.
“These preventable deaths lay bare the desperate and deteriorating conditions facing families and children across Gaza,” said Mr. Beigbeder.
“With temperatures expected to drop further in the coming days, it is tragically foreseeable that more children’s lives will be lost to the inhumane conditions they are enduring”.
The senior official underlined the fact that, beyond the constant threat of attacks, many in Gaza are living without nutrition, or healthcare. Their makeshift shelters, he said, offer no protection from the freezing weather.
