Since November, at least four Palestinian infants have passed away in Gaza from cold-related causes, while displaced families fight to survive the harsh winter conditions in flooded tents and hospital incubators are severely damaged by power outages.

According to medical officials, Mohammed Abu Harbid, who is two months old, is the most recent baby to pass away from severe hypothermia. The infant passed away at al-Rantisi Children’s Hospital, according to Zaher al-Wahidi, director of health information at Gaza’s Ministry of Health.

With his passing, there are now four children who have frozen to d£•ath in the enclave since November, and at least twelve since the war began in October 2023.

According to an Al Jazeera report, thousands of displaced families in Gaza are dealing with an increasing humanitarian crisis as a result of heavy rain, strong winds, and dropping temperatures. Infants, children, and the elderly are among the most vulnerable.

Due to severe shortages, a recently opened neonatal ward at al-Awda Hospital in the Nuseirat refugee camp is having difficulty keeping premature babies alive. Numerous babies, many of whom were born prematurely as a result of their mothers’ ill health, are admitted to the ward, which was created to handle growing demand.

Medical staff say they face acute shortages of equipment, medication and baby formula. Some incubators reportedly lack internal batteries, leaving them unusable during frequent power outages. During visits to the facility, electricity reportedly cut out multiple times within an hour, causing incubators to lose heat immediately.

Health workers warn that premature babies are especially vulnerable to hypothermia, which can quickly become fatal in such conditions.

Outside hospitals, conditions for displaced families remain dire. In western Gaza City, families sheltering in makeshift tents described spending sleepless nights bracing against wind and rain as water floods their bedding and illness spreads among children.

Parents said their tents offer little protection, describing them as thin fabric that fails to shield families from cold or storms. Many said they lack access to medicine, lighting or proper shelter, making it difficult to care for sick children during the night.

Children sheltering in the camps expressed simple wishes for warmer, more durable tents to protect them from rain and cold, while families appealed for urgent humanitarian assistance, including caravans, winterised shelters and basic supplies.