Gaza Freeze Claims Dozens of Palestinian Lives, Including Children

By Staff, Agencies

At least 16 Palestinians have lost their lives and several have been injured in less than 24 hours as a winter storm and severe cold are sweeping across the Gaza Strip, causing multiple collapses of buildings and structures in several regions.

Civil defense and ambulance services reported that six people died overnight into Friday when a house sheltering a family in the Bir al-Naaja area in northern Gaza collapsed during the storm.

Two more people died after a wall gave way and fell onto tents in the al-Rimal neighborhood of Gaza City in the afternoon, while another person died after a structural collapse in Shati refugee camp.

A newborn in al-Mawasi in southern Gaza also succumbed to the freezing temperatures.

Meanwhile, two children died in Gaza City due to the extreme cold, while another child died a day earlier in Khan Younis under similar conditions.

In addition, one resident died after a residential building collapsed, with rescue teams still searching for missing individuals beneath the debris.

Civil defense crews reported that around 15 houses have collapsed across the Gaza Strip so far, including recent incidents in the al-Karama and Sheikh Radwan neighborhoods in Gaza City.

Teams continue to address the aftermath of the collapses and search for survivors under challenging weather conditions.

Medical personnel in Gaza are reporting an alarming increase in fatalities associated with exposure.

A source from al-Shifa Hospital said nine-year-old Hadeel al-Masri passed away in a shelter located west of Gaza City, while infant Taim al-Khawaja lost his life in the Shati camp.

In Khan Younis, eight-month-old Rahaf Abu Jazar died when rainwater flooded her family’s tent.

Dr. Rik Peeperkorn, the World Health Organization’s [WHO] representative in the occupied Palestinian territory, reported that 18 out of 36 hospitals and 43 percent of primary healthcare centers in Gaza were operating at reduced capacity.

Despite facing immense challenges, Shifa Hospital in Gaza City has resumed operations as a partially functioning tertiary care facility, with several services now back in operation.

“On the other hand, there was no MRI available in Gaza and only two CT scanners to cover a population of over two million,” Peeperkorn said.

Peeperkorn highlighted Gaza’s dire medical situation: “On the other hand, there was no MRI available… and only two CT scanners to cover a population of over two million.”

He added that a severe shortage of essential medicines and supplies—for heart disease, kidney treatment, and intensive care—persists, with the approval process for medical aid still slow and complex despite some improvements.

He highlighted the critical shortages of medicines, surgical equipment, and medical imaging tools.

Peeperkorn emphasized that over a quarter of the 70,000 injured Gazans would require lifelong assistive devices. Additionally, he noted that, according to UNICEF, 82 children had lost their lives since October 10.