Six infants die of hypothermia in Gaza

Six infants die of hypothermia in Gaza

In Gaza, six babies have been Under cooling . Health authorities in the Gaza Strip warn that there are further deaths as long as humanitarian aid no longer gets in the enclaves.

warning of a disaster

dr. Saeed Salah, Medical Director of Patient's Friends Benevolent Society Hospital (PfBS) in northern Gazas, spoke of a "catastrophe" due to the increasing number of infants suffering from hypothermia while trying to survive the winter conditions in the Gaza Strip. In the past two weeks, eight babies with hypothermia have been recorded in the medical center in Gaza City. Three of them were moved to the intensive care unit, and three other died "within hours" after their arrival.

necessary help for the population

On Tuesday, a fourth baby, who was only 69 days old, died overnight, says Dr. Salah. Two other babies with symptoms of hypothermia died in the Nasser Hospital in Khan Younis, reporting health workers there to journalists. Dr. Salah emphasized that more caravans, tents and fuel are needed to bring warmth to humans. Such aids could prevent this type of “catastrophe” from repeating itself and stopping the death of newborns due to hypothermia and frostbite.

The human price of the conflict

A fragile ceasefire offers people in Gaza a short breathing space from Israel's months of military campaign, which was started in response to Hamas' terrorist attacks on October 7, in which more than 1,200 people were killed in Israel and taken hostages. According to the Ministry of Health in Gaza, at least 48,348 Palestinians were killed and another 111,761 people were injured.

destruction of the medical infrastructure

survivors report that they have difficulty rebuilding their communities and managing the destruction caused by the conflict, which has seriously affected the health system and has triggered a crisis of famine, displacement and illnesses. According to the UN office for the coordination of humanitarian affairs are only partially 20 functional.

allegations against Israel

Hamas has repeatedly accused Israel of preventing the occurrence of humanitarian aid in the Gaza Strip, which violates the conditions of the ceasefire - allegations that Israel rejects. On February 14, Cogat announced that 4,200 humanitarian aid trucks have arrived in the Gaza strips this week, which transport food, fuel, medical relief supplies, tents and accommodation. Since the beginning of the ceasefire on January 19, a total of 16,800 auxiliary traces have arrived in Gaza, added Cogat.

The individual tragedy of affected families

In the Nasser Hospital, a Palestinian mother gently stroked her tiny, pale baby, which was wrapped in blankets. The two-month Yousaf al-Najar is one of many newborns who are treated there for hypothermia. A CNN video from the hospital showed the mother who tried to check the temperature of her baby, which in her opinion had become "a skeleton". The family is located in a tent nearby, together with at least 15 other relatives.

life in tents and the cold

"I put my lips on his face and feet and they are frozen," she said CNN. "Children are brought in dead due to the cold. We have no blankets or anything," she added. "I see death in my son." Baby Yousaf was born early. Dr. Fida’a al-Nadi, pediatrician in the Nasser Hospital, explained that his weight of two kilograms made him more susceptible to hypothermia. "Every day we have to deal with children suffering from hypothermia, many of them die," she said. "The problem is not the hospital; it is the conditions under which the children live, either in tents or in destroyed houses."

The effects of the conflict on the population

The war of Israel in Gaza has many Palestinians in Zeltlager pushed. According to the UN have been sold. Many have sought refuge in extensive open spaces and have been living in makeshift tents made of fabric and nylon for months - with hardly any access to warmth, electricity or heating. Among the cold weather conditions, newborns and children up to three months are most at risk of respiratory diseases, blood supply damage and infections, reported Dr. Munir al-Bursh, General Director of the Ministry of Health in the Enclave, on February 19th.

A call to improve humanitarian aid

fikr Shalltoot, the Gaza director of the British NGO Medical Aid for Palestinians, said that the deaths of the six Palestinian babies were "the direct result of Israel's restrictions on humanitarian aid". "Newborns should not die of hypothermia in Gaza. This is not a tragedy of nature, but a crisis made by humans," Shallotoot told CNN on Tuesday. "If sufficient aid deliveries, including accommodation materials that had reached the civilian population and the hospitals, would have been completely avoidable."