West Asia

A nine-month-old Palestinian baby has died from severe cold in the besieged Gaza Strip as heavy rains, widespread flooding and inadequate shelters expose hundreds of thousands of displaced Palestinians, particularly children, to life-threatening conditions amid Israel’s ongoing genocidal war. The Gaza Health Ministry identified the infant as Kinan Ahmed Arqiq, stating that he died after suffering a sharp drop in body temperature. According to a statement carried by the Gaza Media Office on Friday, he was being transferred from Kuwaiti Hospital to Nasser Medical Complex on Thursday, where he arrived dead.

A forensic examination confirmed severe hypothermia. Ahmed Raqiq, the baby’s father, said that Kinan died after cold temperatures hit Gaza overnight. “I woke up only to see his skin had turned blue so I rushed him to Nasser Hospital, but he had already died from hypothermia and frozen to death,” he said. “I am in complete shock. I found myself holding my son wrapped in a burial shroud,” he said outside the hospital, tears rolling down his cheeks as he held his son wrapped in a white sheet.

The health ministry said 10 people died from cold exposure in Gaza during the 2025 winter season, while UNICEF separately reported that 11 children died from hypothermia last winter. The latest death comes as heavy rainfall between November 6 and 8 caused widespread flooding across the besieged Palestinian region, damaging thousands of tents and makeshift shelters, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

Approximately 1.4 million people, representing 65% of Gaza’s population, are living in tents or temporary shelters, many offering little protection against freezing temperatures and severe weather. UNICEF warned in a recent report that heavy rains and worsening winter conditions were putting children's lives at increasing risk. More than 106,000 people have been directly affected by rainfall, while an estimated 950,000 displaced Palestinians live in flood-exposed areas.

Around 400,000 people, nearly half of them children, face extremely high flood risks. UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell warned that more children could die without adequate shelter, functioning water and sanitation systems, and essential emergency equipment. The agency also reported that three children aged four, five and eight, along with their mother, were killed when a sand dune collapsed onto their tent in Deir al-Balah following heavy rainfall during the first weekend of November.

Around 1.7 million displaced Palestinians remain in tents, makeshift shelters or damaged buildings vulnerable to flooding and structural collapse. Flooding has further worsened Gaza’s devastated sanitation infrastructure. At the Sheikh Radwan stormwater basin in Gaza City, only two of six pumps remain operational, raising fears of sewage-contaminated water overflowing into residential areas. Shortages of fuel, generators, pumps and spare parts are hampering emergency operations and increasing the risk of waterborne diseases, particularly among children.

UNICEF has urged Israel to allow essential humanitarian equipment and repair supplies into Gaza and appealed for $97.5 million to fund its winter response. Despite the "ceasefire" that took effect in October 2025, Israel's restrictions on shelter materials, fuel and repair equipment continue to hamper humanitarian recovery.