A seven-day-old infant, Mahmoud Al-Aqraa, died in Deir el-Balah as dropping temperatures and inadequate shelter made conditions deadly. Gaza Civil Defence warned that restrictions on tents, mobile homes and building materials have turned storms into humanitarian disasters. Aid groups report only 60,000 of 300,000 requested tents have arrived while roughly 1.5 million people have lost their homes.
Seven-Day-Old Infant Dies In Gaza As Blockade Limits Winter Aid
Wind hits tents on the beach in Gaza City [Dawoud Abu Alkas/Reuters]
A seven-day-old infant has died in the Gaza Strip after exposure to severe cold, a tragedy local medical sources say was worsened by restrictions on vital humanitarian supplies. Medical sources speaking to Al Jazeera identified the infant as Mahmoud Al-Aqraa, who died in Deir el-Balah in central Gaza as temperatures plunged.
Many displaced Palestinians are sheltering in improvised tents made of thin canvas and plastic sheeting, which offer little protection from strong winds, rain and falling night-time temperatures. Recent nights in parts of Gaza have dropped to around 9°C (48°F).
Officials and aid groups say Israeli restrictions have limited the entry of tents, mobile homes and the building materials needed to repair damaged shelters. Aid agencies contend this has turned routine low-pressure weather systems into humanitarian emergencies by preventing reconstruction and meaningful shelter repairs.
"This low-pressure system caused serious damage to temporary shelters, and thousands of tents were completely damaged," Gaza's Civil Defence said, warning the situation risks becoming a catastrophe.
Gaza Civil Defence spokesman Mahmoud Basal urged residents to secure tents against being blown away and said many families have been forced to pitch shelters on beaches due to lack of safe space inside cities following widespread destruction.
"What is happening is not a weather crisis, but a direct result of preventing the entry of building materials and disrupting reconstruction, as people are living in torn tents and cracked houses without safety or dignity," Basal said.
Reporting from Gaza City, Al Jazeera journalist Hind Khoudary said many of the tents she inspected were beyond repair because families lack the materials to fix them, forcing repeated displacement for those affected.
The Gaza meteorological authority warned that strong winds are expected to continue and that temperatures could fall further. Humanitarian organisations say of more than 300,000 tents requested to shelter displaced people, only about 60,000 have been delivered so far.
In addition, Amjad Shawa, director of the Palestinian NGO Network in Gaza, told AFP that roughly 1.5 million of Gaza's 2.2 million residents have lost their homes in the conflict and urgently need shelter and reconstruction assistance.
Separately, medical sources told Al Jazeera that an Israeli quadcopter struck and killed a Palestinian man who was being transferred to a hospital in Khan Younis in southern Gaza.
The United Nations estimates that nearly 80 percent of buildings in Gaza have been destroyed or damaged during the two-year war, compounding the scale of the humanitarian crisis.
What Aid Groups Say
Aid organisations are urging quicker and less restrictive delivery of tents, mobile homes and construction materials to prevent further loss of life as winter conditions worsen. Local emergency services warn that without a sustained increase in shelter supplies and repair materials, future storms will continue to inflict catastrophic damage.
Help us improve.
