Many people in Gaza lack adequate shelter and suffer from malnutrition after more than a year of Israeli attacks and blockades.
A Palestinian health worker has died due to “extreme” weather conditions, according to a statement from the enclave’s Health Ministry, as intense cold compounds challenges faced by those displaced by Israel’s continued attacks .
The body of Al-Hakim Ahmed al-Zaharneh, who worked at the European Hospital in Gaza, was found in his tent in the al-Mawasi area, west of the southern city of Khan Younis of Gaza, the ministry said on Friday.
“This incident comes in light of the difficult humanitarian conditions faced by displaced citizens, as the suffering of Gaza residents increases due to low temperatures and lack of heating in tents,” the ministry said.
The ministry said earlier that four Palestinian babies had died in tents in recent days due to the cold and widespread malnutrition.
Tel Aviv Tribune’s Hani Mahmoud, reporting from Deir el-Balah in central Gaza, said the number of casualties among vulnerable groups is increasing due to deteriorating weather conditions.
“For 14 months now, people here have lacked the basic necessities to survive in these harsh conditions – even in summer,” he said.
“Now, in winter, the temperature has dropped very low, (and) people in the tent camps experience the cold as being (colder) than the actual levels.”
He said mothers often do not have the strength or ability to breastfeed because they are malnourished and do not feel well.
“Conditions are worse for vulnerable groups like babies and, in the absence (of humanitarian aid), it is natural for deaths to occur. »
The vast majority of the Gaza Strip’s 2.4 million residents have been displaced at least once since war broke out with the Palestinian group Hamas on October 7, 2023, with many people living in tents that offer little protection against cold, rain and floods.
The United Nations and other organizations have repeatedly denounced the deteriorating humanitarian conditions in Gaza, as Israeli attacks and blockades severely restrict access to food, water, medicine and other supplies.
A leading US government organization that monitors global food crises this week withdrew a new report warning of imminent famine in northern Gaza due to what it called the “near total blockade” of Israel, after the United States demanded its retraction, U.S. officials told The Associated. Press.
The move follows public criticism of the report by the US ambassador to Israel.
The Famine Early Warning Systems Network (FEWS NET) report warned that a “famine scenario” was unfolding in northern Gaza, where Israel launched a new offensive in early October.
Meanwhile, on Friday, the director of Gaza’s health ministry told Tel Aviv Tribune that Israeli forces stormed Kamal Adwan Hospital, one of the few remaining medical facilities in northern Gaza, and forced all 350 people to evacuate, including all patients and staff. He said contact with the hospital had been lost.
The Israeli war in Gaza has killed at least 45,436 Palestinians and injured 108,038 since October 7, 2023, according to figures released Friday by the Gaza Health Ministry.
An estimated 1,139 people were killed in Israel in attacks carried out by Hamas that day and more than 200 were captured.
