At least five babies have died from the cold in the Gaza Strip in the past week, health authorities there say, as winter worsens the toll on a population traumatized by 15 months of conflict.

Jumaa al-Batran, less than 3 weeks old, died in intensive care Sunday after he and his twin brother, Ali, were rushed to Al Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in central Gaza, the territory’s health ministry said.

The twins and their parents had been living in a tent in a camp for displaced people in the city of Deir al Balah. “I woke up and found my son stiff like a block of wood,” Nora al-Batran, their mother, said in video published by Anadolu, a Turkish news agency. “I tried to shake him awake, but there was nothing. The child was stiff, blue, dark blue in color from the cold.”

Ali, who like his brother was born premature, was in critical condition and on a ventilator in the hospital’s intensive care unit because of the effects of hypothermia, according to Dr. Wisam Shaltout, head of the hospital’s neonatal unit. “Conditions inside tents in this cold weather make it next to impossible for babies like Ali and his brother to survive,” he said in a phone interview.

Shaltout said an earlier report from the Palestinian Authority’s official news agency, Wafa, that Ali had died was inaccurate. But he added that even if Ali recovered, there could be long-lasting damage to his brain or other organs.

“What breaks my heart is that if Ali survives this, we will give him back to his parents who will take him back to the cold tent that almost killed him and that killed his twin brother,” Shaltout said.

Humanitarian Conditions Deteriorate

Humanitarian conditions have deteriorated in Gaza, where the Israeli military’s bombardment and attacks have displaced 90% of the population at least once, according to United Nations agencies. Since the war started on Oct. 7, 2023, with a raid on Israel by the Gaza-based militant group Hamas that killed 1,200 Israelis, more than 45,300 Palestinians have been killed, according to the health ministry, which does not differentiate between civilians and combatants in its statistics. At least 17,492 of those killed were children, the ministry says.

Born into war, Gaza’s youngest are now struggling with the cold.

Tens of thousands of displaced Palestinians are living in ramshackle encampments along the coast, with little more than tents and tarps to protect them from the cold and rain. The tents, once so difficult to obtain they were considered a luxury, have largely disintegrated after a year of exposure to the elements, leaking and providing little protection from the biting wind, humanitarian organizations say.

There is almost no electricity in the enclave, and not enough fuel to keep generators going. There is a shortage of blankets and warm clothing, and little wood for fires.

“Children in Gaza are cold, sick and traumatized,” said Rosalia Bollen, a UNICEF spokesperson who recently visited Gaza’s camps for the displaced. “Many still wear summer clothes. With cooking gas gone, many are searching through rubble for scraps of plastic to burn.”

Palestinian Civil Defense Warn Gaza Residents of Falling Temperatures

On Friday, with weather forecasts warning of falling temperatures, the Palestinian Civil Defense emergency service urged Gaza residents, especially those in tent encampments, to take extra precautions. It recommended drinking warm fluids, wearing layers and exercising to generate body heat. Parents should closely monitor children’s body temperatures and keep infants bundled up, it said.

But with more heavy rain expected in the coming days, and lows in the mid-40s Fahrenheit, those measures may not be enough to ward off suffering from the cold.

Nora al-Batran, the mother of Ali and Jumaa, said she had done her best, but needed more help. “I wrapped him in many layers, but it was in vain,” she told Anadolu, speaking about Jumaa. “There is no sheltered place. There’s no heating. Not enough clothes, not enough blankets.”

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This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

By Aryn Baker
c. 2024 The New York Times Company