A fourth infant has died of hypothermia in the Gaza Strip, where millions of Palestinians displaced by nearly 15 months of war are huddled in tents along the rainy, windy coast as winter approaches.
His father, Yahya, said the 20-day-old Juma al-Batran Sunday found his head “cold as ice” when his parents woke up. The child's twin brother, Ali, was shifted to the intensive care unit of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.
The twins were born a month early and spent only one day in the hospital's nursery, similar to other health centers, their father said. Gaza is overwhelmed and only partially functional.
He said medics told his mother to keep the newborns warm, but it was impossible because they live in a tent and the temperature regularly drops below 10 degrees Celsius at night.
“We are eight people, and we only have four blankets,” said Albatran, cradling his son's pale body. He described dew drops dripping from the tent cover throughout the night. Look at its color due to cold. Do you see how frozen he is?”
Children, some of them barefoot, stood outside and watched him mourn. A shrouded child was laid at the feet of an imam barely bigger than his shoes. After the prayer, the imam took off his ankle-length coat and wrapped it around his father.
“Feel warm, my brother,” he said.
At least three other children have died from the cold in recent weeks, according to local health officials.
A Palestinian woman was killed at home in the West Bank.
A Palestinian woman was shot dead in her home in the volatile West Bank town of Jenin, where the Palestinian Authority launched an unusual campaign against militants this month.
Shatha al-Sabbagh, a 22-year-old journalism student, was killed by a Palestinian security forces sniper late Saturday while she was with her mother and two children, the family said. He said that there were no fighters in the area at that time.
A statement from the Palestinian security forces said he was shot by “illegals” – a term it uses for local militants fighting Israeli forces. Security forces condemned the firing and vowed to investigate it.
The Western-backed Palestinian Authority exercises limited autonomy in parts of the Israeli-occupied West Bank. It is unpopular with Palestinians, largely because it cooperates with Israel on security matters, even as Israel accuses it of turning a blind eye to provocations and militancy in general.
Get breaking national news.
For breaking news that affects Canada and the world, sign up for breaking news alerts delivered directly to you as they happen.
In a statement, al-Sabbagh's family accused the Palestinian security forces of “becoming a tool of oppression that perpetrates terrorism against their own people instead of protecting their dignity and standing up against the (Israeli) occupation.” are.”
The militant group Hamas blamed security forces and said al-Sabbagh was the sister of one of its fighters who was killed fighting alongside Israeli troops last year.
Later on Sunday, hundreds of people demonstrated in Jenin in support of Palestinian security forces, organized by the Fatah party that dominates the Palestinian Authority.
Violence has flared in the West Bank since Hamas invaded Gaza on October 7, 2023. Israel occupied the West Bank along with Gaza and East Jerusalem in the 1967 Middle East War. Palestinians want all three territories for a future state.
Israeli report details abuse of hostages in Gaza
About 1,200 people were killed in the October 7 attack, mostly civilians, and about 250 were kidnapped, including women, children and the elderly. About 100 hostages are still inside Gaza, a third of whom are believed to be dead.
Israel's health ministry released a report late on Saturday that said people in Gaza were subjected to widespread physical, psychological and sexual abuse.
The report, based on the findings of doctors who treated some of the more than 100 hostages released during last year's ceasefire, said the captives – including children – had been subjected to “severe physical and sexual abuse such as beatings.” “Isolation, deprivation of food”. and water, branding, hair pulling and sexual assault.”
The findings, which will be sent to the United Nations, could increase pressure on Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to agree to a ceasefire with Hamas and the release of hostages. Families and supporters of the hostages have staged mass protests for months, and diplomats have reported recent developments in long-running indirect talks.
Attack on a hospital in Gaza City, 7 killed
An Israeli attack on the top floor of Wafa Hospital in Gaza City on Sunday killed at least seven people and wounded several others, according to Civil Defense, first responders affiliated with the Hamas-run government. Israel's military said it struck a Hamas control center inside the building, which it said no longer served as a hospital.
Eight people were killed and more than 15 wounded in an attack near Nasirat in central Gaza, according to al-Awda Hospital officials.
Meanwhile, Israel's military said militants fired five projectiles into Israel from northern Gaza, the second time in two days, adding that two were intercepted and the rest landed in open areas. The Sderot municipality said three people were slightly injured on their way to shelters. Rockets from northern Gaza have been rare in recent months as Israel's military has stepped up operations there.
According to local health officials, more than 45,000 Palestinians have died in Israel's aggression. They say more than half of the deaths are women and children, but do not distinguish between militants and civilians in their count. Israel says it has killed more than 17,000 militants without providing evidence.
Israeli bombardment and ground operations have displaced nearly 90 percent of Gaza's 2.3 million population, often multiple times. Vast areas, including entire neighborhoods, are in ruins, and critical infrastructure has been destroyed.
Israeli sanctions, fighting and a breakdown in law and order have hampered the delivery of humanitarian aid, raising fears of famine, while hunger has put people at greater risk of illness and death.
