Jumaa al-Batran is the fifth infant to die from winter-related causes, as Israeli genocide causes harsh living conditions. A 20-day-old baby in Gaza has died from severe cold, the fifth such fatality from hypothermia in six days in the Israeli-besieged Palestinian enclave.
Jumaa al-Batran died on Sunday while his twin brother, Ali, remains in intensive care at Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital, Gaza’s Ministry of Health said in a statement. Jumaa’s father, Yahya al-Batran, said his son was found with his head as “cold as ice” when he woke up on Sunday.
He said the twins were born one month prematurely and spent just a day in the nursery at the hospital in Deir el-Balah, which, like other health centres in Gaza, has been overwhelmed and is only partially functioning due to relentless Israeli bombings.
He said doctors instructed their mother to keep the newborns warm, but it was impossible because they lived in a tent. Temperatures regularly drop below 10 degrees Celsius (50 degrees Fahrenheit) at night.
We are eight people, and we only have four blankets,” al-Batran said as he cradled his son’s pale body. He described drops of dew seeping through the tent cover overnight.
