A fourth infant died of hypothermia in Gaza. As winter sets in in Gaza, hundreds of thousands of Palestinians displaced by nearly 15 months of war are huddled in tents along the rain-swept coast.
Jomar Al Batran, 20 days old, was found early Sunday morning with his head “as cold as ice,” his father Yehia said.
The baby’s twin brother Ali was taken to the intensive care unit of Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital.
Their father said they were born a month early and had spent just one day in the hospital’s nursery. Like other Gaza health centers, the hospital is completely exhausted and only partially functional.
He said doctors told the mothers to keep the newborns warm, but the newborns were living in tents and nighttime temperatures regularly dropped below 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit). That was impossible.
“There are eight of us, but we only have four blankets,” Albatran said, cradling her son’s pale body.
He explained that dew drops seeped into the tent all night. “It’s cold. Look at his color. Can you see how frozen he is?”
Children, some barefoot, stood outside and watched as they mourned him.
The infant wrapped in cloth lay at the Imam’s feet for prayer. Then the Imam took off his ankle-length coat and wrapped it around his father.
“Please stay warm, brother,” he said.
At least three other infants have died from colds in recent weeks, local health officials said.
