In the second year of an Israeli genocide in Gaza, the weather has added an extra element of suffering to the hundreds of thousands of Palestinians forcibly displaced, often in large numbers, as efforts to agree a ceasefire go nowhere.
Jumaa al-Batran, just 20 days old, died of hypothermia, one of six Palestinian babies to die from exposure and cold in Gaza in recent days, according to doctors – their deaths underscoring the severity of the situation facing vulnerable families.
International aid agencies say Israeli forces have blocked aid shipments, exacerbating the humanitarian crisis.
“Since I’m an adult, I can take this and put up with it, but what did the young man do to deserve this?” Juma’s mother, Noura al-Batran said. “He couldn’t stand it, he couldn’t stand the cold or the hunger and this lack of hope.”
Dozens of tents, many already tattered from months of use, have been blown away or flooded by strong winds and rain, leaving families scrambling to repair the damage, mend torn plastic sheets and pile up sand to hold water
It is another facet of the humanitarian crisis facing Gaza’s population of 2.3 million, gripped by relentless Israeli bombardment that has killed more than 45,500 Palestinians, according to Gaza officials, and reduced the enclave to a wasteland of rubble.
The United Nations aid agency for Palestinians, UNRWA, said on Sunday that aid is nowhere near enough and a ceasefire was desperately needed to be delivered as famine loomed.
Earlier this month, Israeli and Hamas leaders expressed hopes that talks brokered by Egypt, Qatar and the United States could lead to an agreement to stop the fighting. But optimistic talk of a deal before the end of the year has faded.
