Displaced families in Gaza face freezing conditions as infants die from hypothermia

Al Jazeera
Al Jazeera
7m ago
Two-month-old Mohammed Abu Harbid died from severe hypothermia in Gaza as displaced families sheltered in tents faced freezing winter conditions and hospital neonatal wards struggled with power outages and equipment shortages.
Displaced families in Gaza face freezing conditions as infants die from hypothermia
A What happened
Two-month-old Mohammed Abu Harbid died from severe hypothermia at al-Rantisi Children’s Hospital, according to Gaza’s Ministry of Health health information director Zaher al-Wahidi. The death brought the number of children who froze to death in Gaza to four since November 2025 and 12 since October 2023, according to al-Wahidi. At al-Awda Hospital in Nuseirat, staff reported incubators arriving without batteries, repeated electricity cuts, and shortages of medication and baby formula while receiving about 17 infants daily. In western Gaza City, the Kafarna family said their tent leaked and nearly collapsed in a storm, their children were sick from the cold, and they appealed for better tents or caravans.
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Key insights

  • 1

    Power outages and missing incubator batteries disrupt neonatal care: Ahmed Abu Shaira said incubators without internal batteries go cold when generators fail during repeated electricity cuts.

  • 2

    Winter storms worsen conditions for displaced families in tents: The Kafarna family said wind and rain nearly destroyed their shelter, soaked bedding, and contributed to children becoming sick.

  • 3

    Shortages of medicine and baby formula affect premature infants: Ahmed Abu Shaira said the neonatal ward lacked medication for premature lung development and faced a severe shortage of baby formula.

Takeaways

Gaza’s winter conditions coincided with reported hypothermia deaths among infants and severe constraints on shelter and neonatal medical care for displaced families.

Topics

Health & Medicine Public Health World & Politics Conflicts Healthcare Systems Human Rights

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