GAZA STRIP: As the war-torn Palestinian enclave struggles with winter weather, Gaza health officials said that a 20-day-old infant passed away on Sunday due to “severe cold.”
At least seven individuals were murdered in an Israeli airstrike on a hospital that same day.
According to a statement from the Gaza health ministry, Jumaa al-Batran, the youngster, passed away from the cold, while his twin brother is still in the intensive care unit at a nearby hospital.
The death was confirmed by Marwan al-Hamas, the chief of Gaza’s field hospitals. According to him, it increased the number of kids “who have died due to severe cold” in recent weeks to five.
A strike at Al-Wafaa Hospital has killed seven children, while a severe cold has killed five so far.
“Electricity is not available. The child’s father, Yahya al-Batran, stated, “There is no gas, heating, or food, and the water is cold.”
“No one seems to care that my kids are dying right in front of me. Jumaa passed away, and I worry that his brother Ali would do the same.
Attacks on medical facilities
According to a statement from the civil defense organization, seven persons were killed when Israeli forces attacked the upper level of the Al-Wafaa Hospital in central Gaza City.
Members of Hamas’ aerial defense unit, which was based out of a “command and control center in a building that served in the past as the Al-Wafaa hospital,” were the target of a “precise strike,” according to Israel’s military.
According to the military, “the building does not currently serve as a hospital.”
The hospital is still in operation, according to Gaza’s health ministry, which is controlled by Hamas.
The military halted a raid on Kamal Adwan Hospital in northern Gaza the day before the attack on Al-Wafaa Hospital. Hossam Abu Safiyeh, the hospital’s chief, was also taken into custody by the military on suspicion of being a Hamas militant.
According to Gaza health officials on Sunday, Israeli tanks also bombarded the upper floor of the Al-Ahly Arab Baptist Hospital in Gaza City, close to the X-ray division.
30 people have been murdered in the Palestinian territory in the last 24 hours, according to the Gaza health ministry on Sunday, bringing the war’s death toll to 45,514.
New orders for evacuation
Residents of northern Gaza’s Beit Hanoun have reported that Israeli forces have issued a new evacuation order.
Residents claimed that a new wave of relocation resulted from the order to evacuate, however it was not immediately apparent how many people were impacted.
On Saturday, the Israeli military declared its latest offensive into the Beit Hanoun region.
