GAZA, (Palestine Foundation Information Center), Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) has warned of a rise in child deaths in the Gaza Strip due to the severe cold weather, amid ongoing restrictions imposed by Israeli authorities on the entry of humanitarian aid.
In a statement on Thursday, MSF called for urgent action to intensify the delivery of relief supplies to enable Palestinians in Gaza to withstand successive winter storms.
“Last night, a 29-day-old baby died at Nasser hospital, southern Gaza, Palestine, just two hours after arriving at the MSF-supported pediatric ward in the early hours of the morning. Despite treatment efforts, he could not be saved. According to the ministry of health, he died from hypothermia,” MSF said.
“Children are losing their lives because they lack the most basic items for survival. Babies are arriving at the hospital cold, with near-death vital signs. Even our best efforts are not enough. They say the war has ended, but people are still having to fight for their lives,” MSF quoted Bilal Abu Saada, the nursing team supervisor at Nasser Hospital, as saying.
“The harsh winter weather combined with the already dire living conditions is increasing health risks and MSF teams are consistently seeing high rates of respiratory infections, something which will only increase throughout winter and is particularly dangerous for children under five years old,” MSF explained.
“As Gaza is battered by heavy rains and storms, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians continue to struggle in flooded and broken makeshift tents,” MSF added.
