SIX BABIES HAVE died in Gaza in recent weeks as a result of severe cold weather and a lack of shelter, according to the United Nations. 

Yesterday, one-month-old Ali al-Batran was the latest infant to die, according to reports citing Gazan health officials. Ali’s twin brother, Jumaa al-Batran, also died of hypothermia the day before his brother.

Speaking after Jumaa’s death, the twins’ father Yahya al-Batran said: “My children are dying in front of my eyes and nobody cares.”

He and his wife were living in a tattered tent in the city of Deir el-Balah in central Gaza.

Hundreds of thousands of displaced people are crammed into unsuitable tents, most of which were hastily set up in Deir el-Balah and in the southern areas of Khan Yunis and Rafah.

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) has warned that more will likely die due to a lack of shelter and supplies. 

It has once again appealed for aid to be allowed into Gaza and called for a ceasefire. 

A report published today by the United Nations human rights office has found that healthcare in Gaza is on the “brink of total collapse” as a result of Israeli strikes on and near hospitals. 

The 23-page report states that Israel may have violated international law.

Entitled “Attacks on hospitals during the escalation of hostilities in Gaza”, the report looked at the period from October 7, 2023 to June 30, 2024.

It said that during this time, there were at least 136 strikes on 27 hospitals and 12 other medical facilities, claiming significant casualties among doctors, nurses, medics and other civilians and causing significant damage to, if not the complete destruction of, civilian infrastructure.

The report noted that medical personnel and hospitals are specifically protected under international humanitarian law, provided they do not commit, or are not used to commit, acts harmful to the enemy outside their humanitarian function.

It found that Israel’s repeated claims that Gaza hospitals were being improperly used for military purposes by Palestinian groups “vague”.

“Insufficient information has so far been made publicly available to substantiate these allegations, which have remained vague and broad, and in some cases appear contradicted by publicly available information,” the report said.

UN human rights chief Volker Turk said Gaza hospitals had become a “death trap”.

“As if the relentless bombing and the dire humanitarian situation in Gaza were not enough, the one sanctuary where Palestinians should have felt safe in fact became a death trap,” he said.

“The protection of hospitals during warfare is paramount and must be respected by all sides, at all times.”

The report concluded with a call for credible investigations into the incidents detailed, and said they had to be independent given the “limitations” of Israel’s justice system in respect of the conduct of its armed forces.

Evacuations

Elsewhere, Palestinian health authorities say 45 patients and injured people have been evacuated for treatment outside of Gaza.

They left the European Hospital in the southern city of Khan Younis early today and travelled through the Kerem Shalom Crossing into Israel. They will receive treatment in the United Arab Emirates.

Among them was a 10-year-old boy, Abdullah Abu Yousef, who is suffering from kidney failure.

The child was accompanied by his sister because the Israeli authorities rejected his mother’s application to join him. Israel says it screens people accompanying patients for ‘security’ reasons.

“The boy is sick,” said his mother, Abeer Abu Yousef. “He requires haemodialysis three to four days a week.”

Gaza’s health ministry said several thousand Palestinians in Gaza require medical treatment abroad.

Israel has controlled all entry and exit points since capturing the southern city of Rafah in May.

Israel’s bombardment of Gaza has gutted its healthcare system and forced most of its hospitals to close. Those that remain open are only partially functioning and are overwhelmed trying to deal with the enormous volume of casualties with scarce resources.

Israeli forces have besieged and raided at least 10 hospitals across Gaza since the start of the war, some of them multiple times.

Last week, Israeli troops raided Kamal Adwan Hospital in isolated northern Gaza and detained its director. The army said it apprehended 240 suspected militants.

Includes reporting from AFP and Press Association.