Death of infant shows cold, destruction are lethal combination
By Tareq Abu Azzoum
Reporting from Gaza City
Health authorities have reported that another child has died in Gaza from hypothermia.
It’s important to be precise about why this keeps happening. This baby simply did not die because of an extreme cold wave. Winters here are predictable and known.
What has changed this time is that Gaza’s basic protection system has been systematically dismantled. Families are living in tents on wet ground without heating, electricity or sufficient clothing.
When food, fuel, shelter and aid are banned, cold absolutely becomes lethal.
The rising death toll is raising serious concerns among Palestinian families who have no place to take refuge as Israel is still banning the entry of mobile houses to shelter thousands of families.
Instead, they are left stranded as the weather is expected to worsen within the coming hours.
What we know about infant who died from cold in Gaza
Health authorities have identified the infant as 2-week old Mohammed Khalil Abu Al-Khair.
He was admitted to the hospital in recent days and was placed into intensive care due to “extreme hypothermia caused by extreme cold”.
He died on Monday, adding to more than a dozen casualties from exposure in Gaza so far this winter season.
The UN and aid organisations have repeatedly called on Israel to lift restrictions on aid to allow more material for shelters and flood drainage. They have warned that the young and elderly are the most vulnerable to extreme conditions.
Heavy rains, strong winds continue to compound misery of displaced Palestinians in Gaza
UK MPs urge government to intervene over Palestine Action hunger strikers
More than 50 UK MPs and peers have urged the government to urgently intervene over the health of Palestine Action activists on hunger strike in British prisons, warning that several detainees face life-threatening medical conditions.
In a letter signed by 51 parliamentarians and addressed to the justice secretary David Lammy, the lawmakers called for an immediate meeting with the law firm representing eight prisoners currently refusing food.
The MPs said the lawyers had written to the government on December 9, warning that their clients’ health could deteriorate “beyond any possible recovery” without urgent action.
“We are growing increasingly dismayed at the government’s lack of action to protect the health and wellbeing of British citizens,” the letter said.
The hunger strikes are linked to the detention of Palestine Action–affiliated activists accused of damaging military or defence-related sites, including RAF bases and facilities connected to Israeli arms manufacturer Elbit Systems. Supporters say the protests are aimed at opposing UK military support for Israel’s war on Gaza.
Israeli settlers shoot dead Palestinian teenager
The mayor of the town of Tuqu, Muhammad al-Badan, tells the Wafa news agency that Israeli settlers have shot a 16-year-old boy dead.
The incident took place when large crowds gathered in Bethlehem this morning to bid farewell to another 16-year-old, who was killed yesterday by Israeli soldiers for throwing stones.
Al-Badan said after most of the mourners dispersed, some young Palestinian men remained in the northern entrance area of the town, before a settler exited his vehicle and fired shots at them, wounding another young man in the attack.
