A boy, one of many Palestinians seeking warmth on the Gaza Strip on Wednesday. (AP: Photo/Jehad Alshrafi)
In short:
Six newborn babies have died amid a cold snap in Gaza, according to the territory's civil defence agency.
Hundreds of thousands of people are living in tents inside Gaza in the wake of Israel's assault.
What's next?
A ceasefire deal between Israel and Hamas is holding despite Hamas claims that the Israeli military is obstructing aid shipments.
Six newborn babies have died amid a cold snap in Gaza, according to the territory's civil defence agency.
Night-time temperatures in Gaza — where hundreds of thousands of people have been displaced and are living in tents following more than a year of intense Israeli attacks — have dipped below 9 degrees Celsius over the past two weeks.
A Palestinian father embraces the body of his newborn baby who died of hypothermia in Gaza in December. (Reuters: Photo/Ramadan Abed)
"As a result of a severe cold wave and the lack of heating, we have recorded the deaths of six newborns," civil defence agency spokesperson Mahmud Bassal told the AFP news agency.
Paediatrician Dr Samer Lubad, who works at Gaza's Patient's Friends Benevolent Society Hospital (PFBSH), told Al Jazeera the cold was directly affecting infants, with deaths from "cold injury" or hypothermia.
"This condition [cold injury] is because of cold weather, lack of safe shelters," on the Gaza Strip he said.
A man among the rubble of destroyed buildings on Wednesday. (Reuters: Photo/Mahmoud Issa)
PFBSH Health official Dr Saeed Saleh said eight newborns were admitted within the past two weeks with severe cold-related injuries, six of whom later died.
A ceasefire between militant group Hamas and Israel came into effect last month and has allowed aid to flow to displaced people.
Children play near the rubble of destroyed buildings on the Gaza Strip. (Reuters: Photo/Mahmoud Issa)
The first phase of the ceasefire is set to end on Saturday, with uncertainty around what comes next.
Hamas blamed the deaths of the babies on Israel's "criminal policies," accusing Israel of obstructing the delivery of humanitarian aid to Gaza's 2.4 million people.
Israel did not immediately comment on the reports of the newborn deaths and has consistently denied restricting aid.
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"We call on the mediators to take immediate action to stop the occupation's violation of the ceasefire agreement … and facilitate the entry of essential supplies such as shelter, heating and urgent medical items into Gaza," Hamas said in a statement.
"This is crucial to protect the children of Gaza."
In the past 15 months, more than 80 per cent of health facilities in the Gaza Strip have been damaged or destroyed amid fighting between Israel and Hamas, according to the the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees.
A displaced Palestinian mother with her baby in September. (Reuters: Photo/Ramadan Abed)
Under the terms of the current ceasefire deal, Israel agreed to allow more humanitarian aid into Gaza, including 60,000 mobile homes and 200,000 tents.
Israel attacked Gaza in the wake of the Palestinian militant group's terror attack on southern Israel on October 7, 2023, in which around 1,200 people were killed, according to Israeli tallies.
Israel's retaliatory assault on Gaza has killed more than 48,000 Palestinians, according to Palestinian health officials, laid waste to much of the enclave, and displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
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