Gaza (QNN)- A baby has died from extreme cold inside a displacement tent in southern Gaza, as winter conditions continue to claim the lives of displaced children in the besieged territory and Israel continues to siege the enclave.
Aisha Al-Agha, aged 27 days, died in Al-Mawasi, Khan Younis, after freezing temperatures penetrated the tent where her family was sheltering.
Health officials said the baby did not suffer from illness or injury. Exposure to severe cold during the night caused her death, as the family lacked heating, insulation, and proper shelter. Israel’s blockade has restricted the entry of tents, mobile homes, and winter supplies, leaving thousands of displaced families exposed to extreme weather.
The Ministry of Health confirmed that Aisha died due to acute exposure to cold, bringing the number of children who have died inside displacement tents this winter to eight.
Al Jazeera reported that the family found the infant unresponsive at dawn and rushed her to Nasser Medical Complex, where doctors declared her dead.
Aisha’s father said his daughter was in normal condition before the family went to sleep. They later woke to find her body stiff from the cold. He said displacement tents are unfit for living and that children pay the highest price after Israel’s widespread destruction of homes.
Her mother described the final hours, saying her baby’s lips changed color and her body hardened despite repeated attempts to keep her warm throughout the night.
The death comes as officials say Israel has failed to meet ceasefire obligations, particularly those related to allowing shelter materials, mobile homes, and heating supplies into Gaza as temperatures drop.
During the latest storm, hundreds of tents flooded with rainwater, while previously damaged buildings collapsed, causing further casualties. The incidents have deepened Gaza’s humanitarian crisis amid severe shortages of basic services.
Aisha’s death is part of a wider pattern. The Government Media Office said earlier that seven children had already died from extreme cold inside displacement centers since the start of winter.
Since the beginning of the genocide, more than 24 people, most of them newborns and premature infants, have died due to cold exposure and lack of heating.
On January 12, the Ministry of Health documented the death of Mahmoud Al-Aqra, a one-week-old infant who arrived at Shuhada Al-Aqsa Hospital suffering from severe hypothermia before his heart stopped. Shortly after, Mohammed Abu Harbeed, aged two months, also died in Gaza City.
Dr. Hatem Dhaheer, Head of the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit at Nasser Hospital, told QNN that When an infant’s body temperature falls below 33 degrees Celsius, survival becomes unlikely. “At this level, hypothermia causes bleeding in the brain and sometimes the lungs.”
“Most of the infants who die suddenly from cold are premature babies or those weighing less than 2.5 kilograms,” he added.